Two women, separated by three generations and an ocean, live remarkably similar lives as they leave behind all that is familiar and begin again in new lands. Though she doesn't understand exactly why, Maria isn't content with her lot. The prospect of exchanging dependence on her family for dependence on a husband doesn't sit well with this young woman growing up in late 19th Century Germany. Three generations later, on the other side of the Atlantic, Eva struggles with a similar restlessness; she's generally happy but never quite satisfied. This book follows Maria and her great-granddaughter Eva as they face surprisingly similar choices in dramatically different decades: how to keep a roof over your head, when to abandon independence and commit to a lover, where to draw a line in the sand. The choices they make take them to new countries, open them up to heartache and leave them wondering what is enough.