In 1968, eleven-year-old Julia and her Aunt Constance are forced to sell their family home, Windy Ridge, in New York's Hudson Valley and embark on a cross-country automobile trip in search of Julia's mother, bringing only three travel trunks and some "practical travel things."

The heartwarming story of a young girl sent to live with the extraordinary Murphy Family in southern France. Ten-year-old Alice Atherton is sent by her father to spend the summer with his dear friends the Murphys who live with their three children and pet monkey in the French Riveria. There, Alice will meet and learn from some of the most extraordinary luminaries of the time. She visits a junk yard with Pablo Picasso looking for objects to make into art, performs a dance inspired by celestial bodies with the renowned Ballet Russes, and imagines magical adventures with Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald. An uplifting story that will appeal to readers who love books by authors like Kate DiCamillo and Jeanne Birdsall.