Vittorio Innocente, a Canadian born in Italy, meets his half-sister, Rita, in Toronto shortly after his father's death. Uneasy with their new proximity in each other's lives, he and Rita at first maintain the awkward distance that has always characterized his family life. But after a moment of disturbing connection between them, Rita leaves Canada for Europe. Her departure sets in motion a course of events that will take Vittorio back to Valle del Sole, the place of his birth. And when they meet again in this small Appenine village, where his story had its start two decades before, he finds at last that it is not only his sister he has been seeking - it is their shared history, their secret burdens.