Working at an auction house in New York, Julie Holt meets a struggling artist and single mother who reminds her very much of her missing younger sister. Monica Guidry paints a vivid picture of her Southern family through stories, but never says why or how she lost contact with them. And she has another secret: a heart condition that will soon take her life.

Feeling as if she's lost her sister a second time, Julie inherits from Monica an antique portrait--as well as custody of her young son. Taking him to Biloxi, Mississippi, to meet the family he's never known, Julie discovers a connection of her own. The portrait, of an old Guidry relative, was done by her great-grandfather--and unlocks a surprising family history....

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