Tessa Kent, a precocious fourteen year old, gives birth to an illegitimate daughter. Her parents, devout Catholics, raise the infant, Maggie, as their own child. As Tessa becomes a great movie star, Maggie lives for her glorious "sister's" infrequent whirlwind visits. Only when Maggie is eighteen does she learn the truth about her mother. Mortally wounded, she breaks all ties with Tessa and starts work at the Manhattan auction house of Scott & Scott.
Five years later, a life-altering crisis makes Tessa determined to end their estrangement. Tessa can find only one way to reach her daughter - she decides to auction her immensely valuable collection of spectacular jewels with Scott & Scott, on the condition that she and Maggie work closely on the sale. For Tessa, her future now hangs on the desperate hope of an almost impossible reconciliation.