Through the voice of her niece, Olivia, Margaret Vivian's extraordinary personality bursts into color. While growing up in the beautiful countryside of her island home, Taringa, Margaret enjoys her childhood with her parents and younger sister, Josephine. But when her mother, Viola, discovers a tragic secret from the past, her personality undergoes a swift and dramatic change. Suddenly, Margaret's life becomes intolerable under her mother's dominion.

Meeting her soul mate, Stanley, softens the blow for Margaret, and the love she feels for this man surpasses the ugliness between Margaret and her mother. Yet their relationship is not to be and sorrow permeates Margaret's life once more. But time has a way of providing distance and clarity to the human heart, and Margaret realizes that reconciliation with her mother is not only possible, but needed.

From childhood through adolescence and into adulthood, Margaret's story reveals the deep, emotional attachment necessary to keep a family strong, the enduring peace of true love, and the hope we all carry within our soul.