Rosie, an American au pair living in Paris, is fleeing an unspeakable loss that has left her hollow and longing for a family. As she awkwardly grasps for the words to communicate with the Tivots, her adoptive French hosts, she longs for a piece of common ground with Nicole, the cool, distant and beautifully polished mother of the three children she cares for. Rosie's bond with Marc, the father of the household, develops almost too naturally, and the children make their way deep inside her heart. But when Lola, the middle child, begins to suspect too close an attachment between her au pair and her father, Rosie is alerted to her trespass within the family and moves to the south of France to care for Nicole's elderly guardian, the storyteller of the family's secrets. There, she discovers a past, darkened by war and betrayals, and finally comes to understand the tragic losses behind Nicole's brittle, elusive demeanour.
