Amanda Malcom (or is she really Amanda Grant?) escapes to Boston after running away from a failed marriage. She brings with her a strange and delightful wooden box that she found washed up on the shore of Cape Cod. But opening that box has proven to be as challenging as untangling the multiple layers of her own life. Amanda finds sanctuary with a kindly older couple as she tries to reestablish herself in the city, remaining blissfully unaware that the man she left behind is trying to find her.At a raucous July 4th celebration, Amanda meets Jeb Thomas, a powerful but secretive labor organizer who travels where he wants and remains beholden to no city. For all his charm, Jeb does not seem to be her type. But as the ghosts of her past close in, he may be her only escape.America in the 1890s isn't a welcoming place for a separated woman, especially one who grew up in the poorest part of town. Some see her as a victim. Some as a predator. What she wants them to see is a woman who longs for a quiet normal life, even as past failures conspire to bring her down.