A stunning intergenerational mystery set in Italy, full of intrigue, betrayal, and murder. The silky marigold chemise seems to have a mind of its own. Whoever wears it ends up having prophetic dreams and is incapable of parting with it. In the early seventeenth century, sixteen-year-old Lucida secretly poses in the garment for a series of sensuous paintings, done by her best friend Alessia. Her talented friend longs for recognition, but women are not considered serious artists at the time. The paintings can never see the light of day. Lucida and Alessia's families would be dishonored by the impropriety of the chemise and Lucida's poses, as well as the female artist behind them.
However, the paintings are so good, and would set up Alessia's family for years, that her father sells them anonymously. They wind up in the studies of wealthy Italian businessmen in Roma, one of whom is the father of Lucida's arranged new suitor, Niccolo, though Lucida is under the chemise's spell and cannot part with it even then. The garment and the paintings travel through generations of Italian families all the way through present day, following the headstrong women of the Bianchi, Galvani, and Orazio families through Rome, Florence, New York, and finally Corsica.
As the luxurious marigold lingerie passes from woman to woman, arousing greed, deception, and secrecy, the women and their families must find a way to persevere and stay together.
