Amy moves from Italy to New York City to live near her American father. Her journey from immigrant to successful publisher is intertwined with the story of Stella, whose unfinished memoir she intends to publish.

They both experience love, setbacks, and success, as their paths run parallel to the Vietnam War, student protests, hippie culture, the birth of radicalism and feminism, presidential elections and assassinations, the Watergate scandal, up to the 9/11 attack and beyond. Stella's memoir never gets published, because Amy transforms it into a very successful novel. This twist will have the reader re-imagine the entire story and see it from a surprising new perspective.