It is 1880. For chef Amadeo Roselyn, the Isle of Touperdu is where he can open his own restaurant and raise his daughters as educated, marriageable ladies on an island free of the racial violence roiling the post-Reconstruction era south. For Gwennoelle Duday, the matriarch of a supernatural, rackety family from the French village of Fourche, it is a place where the Dudays can act freely, unfettered by other people of “talent” and any foolish talk of rules and higher law.

But the night before they disembark, a question keeps awake both Amadeo in first class, and Madame Duday in steerage. It is one that will haunt them for years after they step onto the island — is the promise of Touperdu a lie?

You can visit Touperdu and its inhabitants by clicking on the map below.