Journalist Melina Knight longs to know why her grandmother, Mariam, so rarely speaks about her family & childhood. When Mariam dies suddenly, she inherits her grandmother`s journal & handwritten letters stashed in a wooden spice box, cryptic treasures written in Armenian, Mariam`s mother tongue. On a spring break in Cyprus, Melina meets Ara, a young Armenian man, who agrees to act as translator. In 1915, aged seven, Mariam was expelled from her home in Eastern Turkey & separated from her family, her life scarred by tragedy, exile & the loss of her first love. As a child, she witnessed the murder of her beloved brother, Gabriel, or so she believed. In fact, Gabriel is alive & living in the heart of a bustling Armenian community not far away. An uncompromising character, he is a stickler for tradition determined to stop his granddaughter from marrying outside the culture. A fact-finding trip across the island brings Melina face to face with the great uncle she thought was dead, but another miracle is on the horizon. Melina unearths a family secret that changes her life & lays the ghosts of her grandmother`s turbulent past to rest.