Named after her mother, Lucette is raised by her maiden Aunt Sophie in New York City, her mother having died during the typhoid epidemic of 1906-1907. The story opens in 1923. Just having reached her majority, at twenty-one, Lucette is sent to Giverny, France, ostensibly to study garden design and gardening under the tutelage of Claude Monet's lead gardener. As a budding watercolorist, she looks upon this as an opportunity to explore her own artistic growth. Lucette is not aware of her Aunt Sophie's ulterior motive, that she learn of long-hidden family secrets, secrets that will change her life, and her own sense of self, and personal history. Added to the mix are Lucette's challenging encounters with the man himself, Claude Monet, at a difficult time in his own life.