The story centers on immigrant writer Antonia Vega, a recent widow and retired English professor. As she settles into the quiet, lonely rhythms of her new life, she is confronted with the disappearance of her sister. Then she’s pulled into a drama with an undocumented farmhand and his pregnant girlfriend.
The novel explores ideas of responsibility to others. It is an inner journey of a woman after retirement and widowhood. Her conflict highlights our country’s own. When one disagrees with an unjust, even cruel system, at what point do we step in? If silence is complacency then just how loud do we need to speak out?