However, the paintings are so good, and would set up Alessia's family for years, that her father sells them anonymously. They wind up in the studies of wealthy Italian businessmen in Roma, one of whom is the father of Lucida's arranged new suitor, Niccolo, though Lucida is under the chemise's spell and cannot part with it even then. The garment and the paintings travel through generations of Italian families all the way through present day, following the headstrong women of the Bianchi, Galvani, and Orazio families through Rome, Florence, New York, and finally Corsica. As the luxurious marigold lingerie passes from woman to woman, arousing greed, deception, and secrecy, the women and their families must find a way to persevere and stay together.