As an oil painting ages, its paint may become increasingly transparent, and sometimes the ghost of another painting that was painted over will reappear. When these occur, they are called "repentances."It is the winter of 1936, in New York.As Europe slides toward world war, the Jewish immigrant community in the city is desparate to get its loved ones from the old country to America. Nathan Ebanholz is about to make the final payment on his wife's and young daughter's passage. But Nathan's joy is short lived. A tragedy has occurred; the ship bringing Miri and Rayzela to America is already at sea and they are not on board. The novel is set in two parts. The first part deals with the consequences of a terrible lie. As a result a crime is committed, two crimes, in fact, a kidnapping and a murder. The lie and the subsequent crime impact the lives of all the characters. In the second part of the novel, the past and present meet head-on. The sins of the past can never stay buried, and the only hope is to uncover the truth.