Iris & Lily : Book three
(Book)

The Capotosti desire to evade reality, abandon conventions, and strive for something better keeps resurfacing, leading Iris and Lily down perilous paths from which there can be no return. After discovering her aptitude for the hospitality business, where she becomes acquainted with the finer pleasures of life she had only read about in novels, Iris carves out a career for herself in the luxury hotels of the Italian Riviera. But the more successful Iris becomes at her job, the more suffocated she feels by the pressure of her husband Gregorio and in-laws, who hold the dictates of familial duty above all personal needs and ambitions, making her easy prey for the men bent on distracting her from her marriage. Lily's dream of developing her talent as a singer, always ridiculed by her jealous husband Joe, is validated by her performance in the church choir, the only venue in which he will allow her to perform. Singing when she can, earning some sorely needed money at her part-time job, and caring for her little boys, who both exasperate and delight her, are all Lily dares to hope for, while Joe's rage and gambling addiction slowly demolish their family and her personal dignity, until it becomes clear that the only route to survival leads out the door. Instead of sharing their doubts, burdens and failures, Iris and Lily bury them, digging themselves into a deeper rut of isolation and vulnerability, pushing their relationship to the brink of disaster. It is not until Lily is in the throes of despair, and Iris is devastated by a painful loss that they reveal things about themselves which make them realize how little they actually knew about each other, and begin to see one another in a new and different light. Is the love between two sisters strong enough to survive the truth they have avoided for so long? Can the deeply ingrained dynamic that governs their relationship - and their destinies - be altered?