Minnie Bromoff. Distraught, devout, fresh off the boat. She is one of the nearly two million immigrants to arrive at Ellis Island near the turn of the twentieth century. But Minnie harbors a terrible secret that drives her to the New World. Arriving at age nineteen, she marries Zelig, a fellow immigrant, who helps Minnie bring her family to the United States. Zelig ardently tries to build a complete life with Minnie but her past intervenes, casting a long shadow over their union. In this vividly imagined historical novel, author Marilyn Parker unfolds the life of the family matriarch, her great aunt. Minnie's determination and sacrifices pave the way for her Russian-Jewish family to emigrate and make it possible for the next generation to become American.