Aristide was a man of passion and heart, a stonecarver and opera tenor born in Carrara, Italy in 1882. Over a hundred years later, his spirit reaches out to help his troubled great granddaughter. As she answers his call, Aristide takes his descendant on a journey back in time....to the days of Puccini, perilous ocean voyages to the New World, labor wars and anarchism, carving monuments to America's greatness....through the dark years of the Depression and World War, and a lonely struggle to reunite with a family left behind.

Other ancestral voices, nearly lost to memory, come to life as each ancestor takes the stage with operatic passion. With tales of longing and reunion, revenge and compassion, faith and courage, they lead the author into marble quarries and green Tuscan hills, into the steerage of massive ships and grand opera houses. What she finds in the glowing heart of their stories will change her forever.

With the passion of opera, this deeply affecting portrayal reveals the hopes and heartaches of so many who made the perilous voyage into the unknown. Their courageous spirit calls to us still, to bravely make our own voyages.