Gemma Jericho is an overworked New York doctor with a handful of a teenaged daughter and a meddlesome mother. So when her mother receives a letter of a mysterious inheritance in Tuscany, Gemma sees her chance. She throws caution to the wind and the three leave for Italy. She hopes that a change of scenery will bring back the closeness she used to share with her daughter and give her mother something to worry about beyond Gemma's social life.

What they encounter in Tuscany is a crumbling old villa and a town divided. Half of the residents believe that Ben Raphael, another American, is the rightful inheritor of the villa. As cultures clash, gossip soars, and intrigue unfolds, Gemma is caught up in the most disturbing—and delicious—trouble she's ever had.