For seven generations, the women of the Flores family have lived under the weight of a Gypsy curse: every man who joins the family—whether through marriage or birth—meets a premature end.
The story unfolds between modern-day Rio de Janeiro and the rural countryside of Pernambuco in 1918. Young Alice receives a lace handkerchief as a family heirloom, only to discover that it conceals a secret message: the tale of a violent event that took place a century earlier. To unravel this mystery, she must travel through time to uncover the history of her foremothers.
The novel explores themes such as female solidarity, the struggle for freedom, and resistance, illustrating how the craft of lace-making became a means of financial independence for the women of this family. It also delves into the oppression endured by Eugenia—a young woman forced into marriage with a wealthy man—and her attempt to escape that fate through secret symbols embroidered into the lace.