1943 Lidia De Angelis has kept a low profile since Mussolini's laws wrenched her from her childhood sweetheart. But when the Germans occupy Venice she must flee the city to save her life. Lidia joins the partisans in the Venetian mountains where she meets David an English soldier fighting for the same cause. As she grows closer to him harsh German reprisals and Lidia's own ardent patriotic activities threaten to tear them apart. Decades later While sorting through her grandmother's belongings after her death Charlotte discovers a Jewish prayer book unopened letters written in Italian and a fading photograph of a group of young people in front of the Doge's Palace. Intrigued by her grandmother's refusal to talk about her life in Italy before and during the war Charlotte travels to Venice in search of her roots There she learns not only the devastating truth about her grandmother's past but also some surprising truths about herself.