Twelve months after her younger sister Anahita's death, Mitra Jahani reluctantly returns to her family's home in suburban New Jersey to observe the Iranian custom of "The One Year."

Mitra has spent her adult life liberating herself from such traditions. She doesn't need to gather with gossipy relatives over fragrant saffron rice pudding and eggplant khoresh to remember and grieve for Ana. Her sister, as dutiful and sweet as Mitra was rebellious, is always in her heart, and so is the guilt that Mitra can neither reveal nor assuage.

For Mitra's mother, Shireen, this homecoming is both joyful and fraught. Shireen's husband rose to the role of family patriarch despite humble beginnings and he relishes that power, though not the responsibilities that come with it. His callous disowning of his surviving daughter compels Shireen to rethink her own role after decades of submission. But Mitra too is suddenly forced to confront the truth about her late sister's life, and the secrets that each of them hid to protect others. And as revelations bring Mitra and Shireen to a new understanding, they, along with the rest of the Jahani family, must consider anew the choices, bargains, and betrayals made in the name of belonging.