The story begins with Jivan in Eastern Turkey, 1914, at the start of the Armenian Genocide, and follows the young teen through years of upheaval as the life he knows falls apart. The second thread depicts a day in the life of Araxie, Jivan’s future wife, a new mother grateful to have made it to America, eager to love and be loved, but haunted by her past. Lastly, there is Miriam, the half-Armenian, half-Jewish future grandchild of Jivan and Araxie, stumbling into puberty and attempting to navigate middle school in 1980s New Jersey, while her family’s unspoken history lingers.

At times dark and painful, the novel also portrays the hopeful and awkward moments of life, whether in the midst of war or the relative safety of American suburbia – having a crush, being fourteen, searching for your place, and finding your way.