Erin Ozcomert, a beautiful, graduate student at UCLA, has always felt compelled to learn more about the little known stories of her father; stories that have been hidden from her since his death several years before. Leaving modern day Los Angeles, Erin is swept into the ancient customs and traditions of her father's village in northeastern Turkey. What she learns there is not at all what she had expected to find. As she is enfolded into the loving arms of her Aunt Fatma Ozkoy, Erin discovers a place where tradition prevails in social ceremonies and family feuds are still kindling hatred and murder, torn by some never forgotten malice performed by past generations. Trying to integrate these discoveries, Erin is given the gift of her grandmother's journal. Reading the handwritten treasure, her emotions are stripped raw as she uncovers her heritage and the answers to her questions. Forced to leave the village before she is ready, Erin returns to Istanbul only to discover more secrets from her father's past.