Monica and Nicholas Baumhauer are about to launch the trip of a lifetime: a year-long sabbatical in Italy. They have found the perfect cove to call home, beneath vineyards and centuries-old buildings embedded in cliffs. They will take weekly train rides into Florence so Nick can work on his book about Renaissance paintings. Construction of a sailboat that will serve as both transportation and home is well under way. They’ve signed up for Italian lessons and sailing lessons. It seems that nothing will stand in the way of Nick and Monica’s long-anticipated adventure. Then a catastrophic mistake derails all of their plans, and Monica is forced to apply everything Nick has taught her about the Renaissance to her own resurrection.