My Villa in Calabria

"My Italian is doing okay, I think, but I'm still frustrated. There are so many things I want to ask my cousins. I want to know about their lives, what they want, what they believe in, what they think of the world, but I just don't have the vocabulary."

A son's journey leads him closer to the truth about his father in Vincent Romeo's touching debut novel, "My Villa in Calabria."

As Tony, a daytime series actor living in New York City, begins the inevitable approach toward middle age, his mother makes a most unusual request: transport his father's ashes back to Italy for a proper burial in his hometown.

Having long had a tenuous relationship with his demanding father, Tony is at first reluctant to take on this somber task. But he soon finds himself jetting off to Italy, taking comfort in the idea that he will at least get the opportunity to explore the art, architecture, and food of this awe-inspiring country.

But once he steps foot in his father's hometown, Tony stumbles across shocking family secrets that will change the way he thinks of his father-and himself-forever.