When three women move to Portugal and are thrown together by happenstance, little do they know how dramatically their lives are about to change.

Fatima Khan is a Pakistani writer with a gift for languages, a German husband, a ten-year-old daughter, and a determination to escape her mother's clutches. Kate Miller is a driven, no-nonsense American diplomat who needs to get her way, even as her marriage flounders. Abena Nyator is a warm and kind-hearted Ghanaian entrepreneur consumed with self-doubt. Each of them looking for a fresh start. Each of them haunted by their past. Each of them burdened by horrendous secrets.

A visit by Fatima's mother threatens to derail her new life and forces her to face her demons. And when all-consuming guilt gets the better of Kate and Abena, each must make a momentous decision. Set against a sweeping international backdrop-Lisbon, Singapore, Karachi, Houston, Copenhagen, Berlin, Dubai, Brighton, and Accra-the three women are forced to confront an inconvenient truth: the guilty can't say goodbye.