After his mother dies, Peter Berry collects memories in broken watches, fleeing his childhood home to a battered apartment complex in San Francisco—his mother’s favorite city. He hopes to bury the box filled with dark truths before her haunting memory returns to take him too. Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires, Sofia Morales's world collapses when her daughter disappears, leading her to demand her husband leave. She escapes to San Francisco, renting an apartment in a dilapidated complex at the edge of North Beach, blasting the radio to drown out her daughter’s voice. In this confined space, Peter and Sofia forge a close friendship, finding solace amid their unspoken nightmares. However, when Sofia receives a letter from her estranged husband and Peter struggles to bury his box of watches, the ghosts of their pasts threaten the lives they’ve built, straining their bond with painful memories, both real and imagined. Spanning three decades, the narrative propels Peter and Sofia toward a confrontation with their pasts, leading them toward either redemption or damnation. This engrossing and surreal debut novel explores trauma, family, and the journey to heal after profound loss.
