Sachs marries the modern with the historical in this tale of a grandmother and granddaughter trying to come to terms with each other. Anna is a 35-year old woman in the aftermath of losing her husband. She stumbles in searching for a way to remain part of the world when she receives a bizarre call from her 85-year-old grandmother, Goldie Rubin Feld Rosenthal, estranged from the family but still oddly feisty despite her advancing years. Grandma Roldie invites Anna to go with her on a cross-country trip to return a collection of Japanese artwork to its rightful owner.

The unlikely pair take off on an odyssey that reaches back into Goldie's life as a young adult. Born into a Jewish family in San Francisco during the 1940s, she tells Anna about her life and about meeting the Nakamura family. Historical moments are related including the attack on Pearl Harbor and the chasm of prejudice and suspicion that developed amongst Americans and aimed at the Japanese population.

On their journey, the two reconcile their pasts and in so doing help in redeeming the other. It's a touching tale of familial love and salvation.