Only the Beautiful

The New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War tells a heartbreaking tale of a young mother's struggle to retain her daughter and the forces of fate that destroy them.

1938 in California—Sixteen-year-old Rosanne is adopted by the proprietors of the vineyard where she has spent her whole life as the vinedresser's daughter when she tragically loses her parents. But Rossie has a secret when she moves into Celine and Truman Calvert's large home: she can see colors when she hears sound. She made a vow to her mother that she would never share her little-known talent with anybody, but the weight of her sadness and loneliness gets to her too. Motivated by her isolation, she not only breaches the commitment she made to her mother, but also, in a moment of desperation, lowers her guard and becomes pregnant. After being banished by the Calverts, Rosanne cherishes her pregnancy as a chance for a future family, believing she is destined for a home for single moms. However, she quickly learns that she is not headed to any kind of home, but rather to a location that is more worse than anything she could have imagined.

1947 in AustriaTruman's sister Helen Calvert is prepared to make a permanent return to the United States after personally seeing Adolf Hitler's callous pursuit of inherited purity, particularly with relation to "different children." But after spending decades working overseas, she finally returns to her brother's tranquil vineyard and is stunned to discover what really happened to the daughter of the vinedresser—a girl Helen had long since been friends with—nine years previously. Helen learns that even though the war had been won in Europe, there were still terrible battles to be waged at home as she searches for Rosanne.