Although this is regarded as a stand alone book, it is the third book in a trilogy. The cover is deceptive, causing the reader to expect that the book will primarily be about an Italian-American family's trip back to Italy to see where their family sprang from. Instead, the book is mainly about the children, and grandchildren, but primarily about the youngest son who is away at school having an affair with his dissertation adviser. When some of the family eventually get to Italy, it is anticlimactic and with little of interest.