When severe winter weather damages a church hosting the annual Christmas boutique, Sylvia offers space at Elm Creek Manor, where fundraising efforts are complicated by the personal struggles of her fellow quilters.

The arrival of newcomers into the circle of quilters heralds unexpected journeys down pathways near and far as well as capturing the spirit of friendship at the moment of its transformation.

Having joined Elm Creek's quilting circle, newest member and chef Anna remembers her past and present experiences in her community's kitchens and becomes the writer of the group's official cookbook, in a tale complemented by one hundred recipes.

"The New York Times bestselling author of Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker and Mrs. Lincoln's Rival imagines the inner life of Julia Grant, beloved as a Civil War general's wife and the First Lady, yet who grappled with a profound and complex relationship with the slave who was her namesake-until she forged a proud identity of her own. In 1844, Missouri belle Julia Dent met dazzling horseman Lieutenant Ulysses S Grant. Four years passed before their parents...

While decorating Elm Creek Manor on Christmas Eve, Sarah McClure discovers an incomplete Christmas quilt and sets out to uncover its history with the help of Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, who reveals why the quilt had never been finished.

An American wife of a German intellectual and her circle of women friends sabotage Hitler's regime until an errant Russian signal exposes their reistance cell.

Sarah, struggling to find a job and a sense of place in her new town, finds herself learning how to quilt from a cantankerous old woman who also teaches her about the deep love that can exist between friends.