Noah Selvaggio is a retired chemistry professor and widower living on the Upper West Side but born in the South of France. He is days away from his first visit back to Nice since he was a child, bringing with him a handful of puzzling photographs he's discovered from his mother's wartime years. But he receives a call from Children's Services: an eleven-year-old great-nephew whom he's never met urgently needs someone to look after him. Reluctantly, Noah agrees to take Michael along on his trip. Much has changed in this famously charming seaside mecca, still haunted by memories of the Nazi occupation. The unlikely duo, suffering from jet lag and culture shock, bicker about everything from steak-frites to screen time. But Noah gradually comes to appreciate the boy's truculent wit, and Michael's ease with tech and his sharp eye help Noah unearth troubling details about their family's history. As truths about their pasts come to light, they find they are more akin than they knew