is seared in Edie White's brain when AncestryDNA sucker-punches her at work in Baton Rouge in 2018. Author Jeremy White's wife, who was raised by a loving adopted family, had altruistically submitted a sample in hopes of healing an unknown woman's nearly fifty-year-old wound. immersively reveals how the resulting bombshell propels the two college sweethearts into this that resolves a trio of daunting mysteries, including one plaguing an enthusiastic horde of gangster-adjacent Ukrainian Americans for two-thirds of a century. , and sets it apart from other books involving searches for biological family. Our reluctant hero successfully dodges all the traps that could have turned this unicorn of a real-life family saga into a darker version of the insane yet heartwarming tale that it is. With a smattering of bittersweet moments, is heavy on happy reunions, including a mind-blowing, poetic parental reunion of sorts, one involving a local bookstore, no less. It's also worth noting this story occurs on the eve of 2020. A post-COVID read brings several themes to the fore, including social and racial justice, police brutality, and the value of science. Additionally, insidious homophobia in 1950s Middle America lies at the root of our heartbreaking titular mystery. also reminds us of a recent time when air travel was less perilous and we could safely hug strangers.