The narrative moves back to 1929. Eva and her father live with Santino and Fabia, whom she calls her grandparents though they aren’t blood relatives. Santino and Fabia’s grandson is moving to Italy to study for the priesthood. His mother recently died, and his father wants him to have better opportunities than he has in America. Eva began using the name “Eva” after her own mother died from tuberculosis. She thinks she and Angelo will be friends because they have both lost their mothers.

Three months after Angelo arrives, he becomes sad and stops speaking. Eva asks him about his family back in America. He has a sister named Anna, and he misses her. Eva offers to be his sister, and Angelo says he will take her family’s surname. Eva is Jewish, but Angelo is Catholic and worries they can’t be brother and sister because of their differing religions. They decide they “will agree on everything else” (17) other than religion.

Angelo can’t play sports because of his disability. Eva asks what happened to his leg and wants to see his prosthetic. Angelo agrees to show her only if she shares her diary with him. Eva agrees, and Angelo pushes up his pants leg to reveal where the prosthetic attaches to his leg. He was born without his entire leg, and his uncle helped fashion the metal bracing that holds the prosthetic. Eva is captivated and touches the brace, wondering if it hurts. Angelo says it’s sometimes painful but worth it for him to have the ability to walk. Angelo reattaches his prosthetic, and Eva fetches her diary. It’s in Italian, which he can’t yet read, so she reads an entry to him about his arrival. She has written that he is handsome and that she’s glad he’s come. Angelo is embarrassed and says that Eva is “the prettiest girl [he’s] ever seen” (24).

Eva writes in her diary on November 17, 1938, about a recurring dream she has. She is trapped in a room with other women, and she attempts to escape out the window. The women beg her not to leave them, but she forces her way into the fresh air and falls.

Eva is 18, and her father wakes her up from the nightmare. She doesn’t know why she keeps having the dream, and she fears what will happen when she falls, but her father assures her she will always wake up before she lands.

Camillo fears Eva is naïve about what is happening in Italy, but she has overheard him arguing with his brothers over the rise of antisemitism under Mussolini. The brothers disagree about the dangers of the Fascists, as his brother Augusto asserts, “Revolution rarely helps the Jew […]” (30), reminding them of the Bolsheviks placing Jewish people in ghettos. Recently, the newspaper published the “Manifesto della Razza” or “the Manifesto of Race” (30), which blames Jewish people for many social and economic issues.

In September 1938, the Fascists enact a new law ratified by King Emmanuel, which prohibits Jewish children from attending school or working in schools. This means Eva can’t participate in music school as she had planned. The laws also forbid Jewish people from employing any non-Jewish people, which will affect her father’s glass factory and force Santino and Fabia to move since they are Catholics. No intermingling of Jewish people and non-Jewish people would be permitted, including marriage. Though Jewish people have been Italian citizens for 68 years, all their rights are revoked. Eva’s family gathers at their villa to discuss the frightening developments.

Though Eva has stopped visiting Angelo at his seminary, she is fearful of what’s happening and longs to see him for comfort, though Angelo fears he has become too “attached” to Eva and has asked her to stop visiting. She goes to see him at the Seminario di San Giovanni Battista and asks him to walk with her. Eva shares her concerns about all the new laws that restrict her life in every way. Angelo doesn’t seem to grasp her fear as he still thinks Jewish people are safe in Italy. Eva reminds him of what happened to the Schreibers, a German family who stayed with them. Because Mrs. Schreiber was Jewish, they lost their home, possessions, and jobs and had to flee the country.

Eva walks them to an old Jewish cemetery where her father’s relatives are buried. She places a stone on the graves and explains to Angelo the Jewish “mitzvah” of marking graves with rocks. Angelo holds her hand, and Eva tells him she knows he loves her and had hoped they could get married one day. Angelo will soon become a priest and reminds her that his “path is set.” Eva thinks that his refusal to leave the seminary and marry her is because she’s Jewish and he’s Catholic. Eva accuses Angelo of only attending seminary because his family forced him. Angelo replies that he wants to be a priest because he trusts God’s plan more than men’s; God gives him “peace” and “purpose.” Angelo knows a war is coming, and if not for his disability, he might not have become a priest; instead, he might have become a soldier or pilot in the war. Eva accuses Angelo of believing only in God, while she puts her faith in family and love.

On June 29, 1939, Eva writes in her journal that she is beginning to hate Mussolini because he continues to pass laws making life harder for Jewish people. The laws are increasingly cruel, preventing Jewish people from working and living fulfilling lives. The laws are systematically stripping away their humanity, and there’s nothing they can do.

Otto Adler, the father of Eva’s uncle Felix, is a Jewish violinist living in Austria. Ever since the Anschluss, or Austria’s fall to Germany, Jewish people have been increasingly persecuted, and Felix fears for his father’s safety. Camillo reminds Felix that Otto can’t come to Italy because the government is deporting Austrians. At first, Otto thought he could “assimilate” as many others tried to do. After Kristallnacht in 1938, when Nazis attacked Jewish neighborhoods and businesses, killing many and taking many others to concentration camps, Otto became increasingly fearful.

Angelo is supposed to be attending Eva’s orchestra concert, but at the last minute, she learns that she is no longer in the orchestra. The new Race Laws also strip Felix of his citizenship. Angelo takes Eva for ice cream, but the shop has a sign prohibiting Jewish people from entering. Angelo goes to an apothecary for salve to soothe his leg and asks the owner about her sign. She claims she’s not a Fascist but complies to save her business. Angelo leaves without buying anything in protest of her complicity. While sitting in the park, Eva examines a newspaper with a political cartoon that depicts Jewish people unfavorably. She laughs at their cartoonish depiction of Jewish facial features, but the newspaper disturbs Angelo as he wonders how much further the persecution will go. Eva must get home for Shabbat, the Jewish observance of the beginning of the Sabbath. She says her family is “becoming devout” now that their religion is under attack. In the last year, she has learned a lot about her Jewish heritage, but she can’t understand why people hate Jewish people.

Felix came to Italy in 1926 when he fell in love with a woman. He became Eva’s violin teacher, intent on passing down his father’s passion for the violin to her. At times, he was a strict teacher, and he and Eva often argued, which led her to develop a resentment towards him. In the present, Felix receives word that the Germans arrested his father and sent him to a work camp called Mauthausen. Because the Nazis have been systematically targeting artists, musicians, and teachers for extermination, Felix fears his father will die soon. Eva plays the violin for him while he cries. Though she doesn’t play the music perfectly, Felix praises her talent and apologizes for being so hard on her. Felix says that in her music, he hears their legacy and hopes that even though the Nazis are trying to destroy them, they can’t take their “knowledge, memories, or minds” (59).

In August, Angelo travels with Eva and her family to Maremma Beach for a vacation. Eva and Angelo are swimming in the ocean together when a storm blows in. They take shelter in a small fishing shack and playfully wrestle. Angelo pulls Eva close to him, and they begin kissing, but they stop before going too far. Eva leaves the encounter exhilarated, hungry for more, but Angelo feels guilty as if he has sinned. He admits to himself what he has always known: that he loves Eva, not just as a sister, but also as a woman.

Knowing that Angelo and Eva are in love, Camillo asks Angelo to marry her and take her to America, where she will be safe. Angelo says that Eva won’t leave her family. Camillo agrees and asks Angelo to fulfill his calling to become a priest, as their family and others will soon need the Catholic Church’s help to survive. Camillo has been donating to the “DELASEM” or “The Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants (70).” He asks Angelo to ensure the church uses the money to help refugees and warns Angelo that one day he may have to help them hide.

The next day, the owners of the beach house ask Camillo to leave because other vacationers are complaining. The owner’s wife wants them to leave immediately, but Camillo says they will leave the next day. As they drive away from the place they’ve vacationed for years, Eva knows she will never see it again.

In Rome, Angelo confesses to Monsignor Luciano what happened with Eva. The monsignor absolves him but gives a stern warning about not falling into sin again. He reminds Angelo that Eva is Jewish and doesn’t believe in Jesus. Angelo is confident he could convert her, but she would refuse to be baptized. He also recognizes that being Jewish is a part of her identity, and he wouldn’t ask her to renounce it. Angelo recalls his mother’s death and his father telling him that the church is where he belongs due to his leg. Angelo knows he must tell Eva that they can’t be together.

Angelo was drawn to Catholicism by its beautiful art and ritual. He takes Eva on a tour through Florence to all the places that inspire him, including the statue of Saint George. After visiting several churches, Eva explains that synagogues are often plain because Jewish people tend to move frequently, and worship most often occurs at home with family. Despite her love of simplicity, Eva marvels at the architecture and design of Santa Croce. Eva tells Angelo that she believes he is becoming a priest not because he loves God but because he is “[…] hungry for purpose, for meaning, for… martyrdom… or maybe sainthood” (81). Angelo says he finds “balance” and “harmony” in serving God. He confesses that he loves her, but he has made a vow to God which he cannot break, not even for her, though he loves her more than anyone on earth. Eva is heartbroken and refuses even to let Angelo walk her home.