Summary

The novel begins with a prologue in which Antonia Vega is at a restaurant, waiting for her husband, Sam, to meet her there. Tragically, Sam has an aortic aneurysm on the way to the restaurant and dies. Chapter 1 takes place about one year later. Antonia Vega is a widowed, recently retired literature professor. She and her sisters are originally from the Dominican Republic, but they have lived in the United States for decades. Antonia is in her sixties and never had children. She lives in Vermont and now spends her days adhering to a quiet, steady routine. Her sisters—Izzy, Mona, and Tilly—live relatively close by and are all fairly close in age to Antonia. One of Antonia’s neighbors is Roger, who owns a farm. He expresses various anti-immigration political views, but he knowingly employs undocumented immigrants on his farm, likely...