Growing up working at her parents’ popular bakery in Germany, Annelise has always imagined a future full of delicious possibilities. Despite rumors that anti-Jewish sentiment is on the rise, Annelise and her parents can’t quite believe that it will affect them. But as she falls in love, marries and gives birth to her daughter, the dangers grow closer. Soon Annelise and her husband are given the chance to leave for America, but they must go without her parents, whose future and safety are uncertain. Two generations later, Annelise’s granddaughter, Clare, is a young woman newly in love. But when she stumbles upon a trove of the letters her great-grandmother wrote from Germany, she sees the history of her family’s sacrifices in a new light.

Only a year ago, Isabel Moore was married, was the object of adoration for her 10-year-old daughter, and thought she knew everything about her wild, extravagant, beloved best friend, Josie. But in that one short year, her husband moved out and rented his own apartment; her daughter grew into a moody insomniac; and Josie was killed in a single-car accident. As the relationships that long defined Isabel change before her eyes, she must try to understand who she really is.

In this hilarious, sorrowful, intelligent and irresistible page-turner, Willa Jacobs has the best friend of a lifetime in Jane Weston. When Ben, a close friend from high school, returns to Willa's life, the delicate balance of friendship and love is tipped askew.