Drawing on a traditional Finnish lullaby, "Lay Down on the Good Earth" celebrates the fortitude of Finnish immigrants in Michigan and the Midwest. As her husband leaves for another day in the copper mines, Sanni reflects on her role as a wife and a mother, happier days in Finland, and the surprising fate of her two sons. Although Sanni's younger years have passed, what remains certain is the process of making nisu - the kneading of the dough, the braiding of bread - each thick ribbon a symbol of the men in Sanni's life and the unending bond of family and tradition.

Kodiak Pembroke has hit rock bottom. His parents are dead. He's estranged from his sister. And he has betrayed the love of his life, Olivia. For Kodiak, the only solution (and not a logical one) is to head out to the Stannard Rock Lighthouse, a place coined "the loneliest place on the planet" by its keepers. He wants to feel the magic his father felt and more importantly, he wants to find some remnant of his father again. On another island halfway around the world, Olivia is also trying to escape the past and Kodiak's betrayal, but what she finds instead is unexpected acceptance for what went wrong. Two people. Two tragedies. Two stories. Two islands.