A sprawling, multi-generational saga, the novel explores the lives of four sisters in the Piper family in early 20th-century Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The story, which has been an Oprah’s Book Club pick, delves into themes of family secrets, forbidden love, racial strife, and the bonds that tie the family together across generations, from the coal-mining communities of Nova Scotia to the battlefields of World War I and the jazz scene of New York City.