In the tradition of Marilynne Robinson's Housekeeping and Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, a dazzling debut novel about the family bonds that remain even when they seem irretrievably torn apart...

1927. Times are tough in rural Kentucky. With their mother dead and their stepfather looming as an ever-present threat, sisters Bertie and Mabel Fischer have no one to lean on but each other. Then a choice made in desperation sets off a chain of misunderstandings that will divide the sisters and resonate through three generations of women.

As the years pass and great events stalk the century, Bertie and Mabel forge identities shaped by what lies unspoken between them. And as the sisters go on to have daughters and granddaughters of their own, they discover that both love and betrayal are even more complicated than they seem.

Gorgeously written, filled with extraordinary insight and emotional truth, Nancy Jensen's searing debut novel illuminates the power of family—and of family secrets.

'Tender and satisfying, with a heartbreaking end.' Kirkus Reviews