Tumbling backwards in time, from 1987 to 1938, and seen through the eyes of four generations of women, Souvenir of Cold Springs is the story of one extended family and the secrets from the past that shape their lives.

Readers first encounter Margaret Neal, a junior at Harvard, who drops out after a disastrous liaison and its unfortunate consequences. Aimless and guilt-ridden, she decides she has to get away from the East Coast altogether. For the money to buy a ticket to California, Margaret appeals to her great-aunt, Nell Kerwin, a no-nonsense ex-schoolteacher who still lives in the old family home in Syracuse where, each Thanksgiving, the members of the Kerwin clan gather for a raucous family reunion. When Nell replies to Margaretís plea, she encloses a gift—an odd yet cherished souvenir that weaves in and out of the story as a series of crucial truths about the familyís history is revealed.

Soon weíll meet Margaretís contemporaries—wild cousin Ann, practical cousin Heather—as well as Margaretís parents, Mark and Lucy, her aunt Kay, and uncle Teddy. Glimpses of the lives of Teddy and Lucyís parents give way to fuller portraits of these aunts, uncles, siblings, and spouses at varying moments in their lives.

The interlocking narratives in Souvenir of Cold Springs peel away layers of a larger story, uncovering the painful events that arose from one impulsive act buried deep in the past, and from the misconceptions, rationalizations, and outright lies that followed. As the story works its way backward we come to see not only how the events and values of each generation influence individual fates, but how this family, like all families, is a rich accumulation, with each generation echoing and deepening the experiences of those who came before them.