'Throughout the years that Veritas has spent trying to rear me, there's one essential truth she's always stuck to. 'Love is stronger than mountains.' My mother's name meant truth. But could any of us trust her to tell the truth about our family?'

Can Ruth and her sister Mary discover lasting love for themselves amid the chaos of their large bohemian family? And what about their eccentric mother? Could they find a new love for her too? After the hardships of the 50s, how will any of them experience the new freedoms of the swinging 60s? As Ruth stands at the altar promising love to a young man till the end of life, under her breath she makes a vow: to set down everything of the past, the reality of a girlhood constantly touched by sadness, yet always profoundly secure.