Grow­ing up in 1960s Brook­lyn, Lena wants to be a bak­er just like her moth­er was back in Poland pri­or to World War II. But ques­tions about those days, and about a sis­ter Lena nev­er even knew, are ignored with solemn silence. It’s as if every­thing her par­ents left behind was a sub­ject nev­er to be broached.

The one per­son in whom Lena can con­fide is her best friend, Pearl. When she sud­den­ly dis­ap­pears from Lena’s life, Lena forges ahead: col­lege, love and mar­riage with a won­der­ful man, the dream of own­ing a bak­ery becom­ing a real­i­ty, and the hope that some­day Pearl will return to share in Lena’s hap­pi­ness – and to be there for her dur­ing the unex­pect­ed loss­es to come.

Only when Lena dis­cov­ers the depth of her par­ents’ anguish, and a star­tling truth about her own past, can they rebuild a fam­i­ly and over­come the heart-wrench­ing mem­o­ries that have torn them apart.