St. Louis, Missouri, 1896 through 2000.
James A. James believed one should reach for dreams and, before he disappeared, he instilled that quest into his daughters Ginny and Ellie. However, James also taught his girls about secrets and, like the tornado that raged the day of her birth, Ellie created unpredictable and disastrous secrets as she whirled through her life.
Without Al Capone, Ellie could not have attained her dream, but, during each day with him, she feared his violence would take her life. Only with the help of her childhood friend Franny could Ellie deceive Capone and walk away alive; with her bones broken and clutching Al's lucky rabbit's foot, she hoped to never see him again. But she would.
Franny saved Ellie's life more than once. So, when Franny and Jerry Cohen appeared at Ellie's home one stormy night, as she lay alone and in labor, spontaneously Ellie gave them one of the twins she bore, making a pact to never tell anyone. It seemed a perfect secret; no one had known she was carrying twins - not even her husband.
In 1956, as Ellie stumbled home, leaving a bloody trail for the police to follow, her family realized she was keeping a dark secret. Ellie went to her grave with it, but Rose Cohen, the second twin, would persevere to untangle the secret threads.
