Includes bibliographical references.

"Immigrating alone from Paris to New York after the crucible of World War II, Gazala Benamar, still a teenager, becomes fast friends with two spirited sisters, Anne and Alma. When Gazala's lost, beloved brother Samir finally joins her in Manhattan, this contentious, inseparable foursome will last into the twenty-first century, becoming the beating heart of a multigenerational found family. These decades are marked by the business of everyday life and the inevitable surprises of erupting passions [and] great and small waves of joy and despair, from the beginning of life to its end. Gazala and Samir make a home together, Alma loses a baby, Anne leaves her husband for his sister, and Anne's restless daughter grows up to raise a child on her own and join a throuple, becoming who she wanted to be. Through it all, and the history of these decades, the four friends, and their best beloveds, stand by one another--protecting, annoying, and celebrating each other"--