Mary Coin takes inspiration from Dorothea Lange’s iconic "Migrant Mother" photograph, weaving a story of two women—one famous and one forgotten—and their remarkable chance encounter.

In 1936, a young mother resting by the side of a road in Central California is spontaneously photographed by a woman documenting the migrant laborers who have taken to America’s farms in search of work. Little personal information is exchanged, and neither woman has any way of knowing that they have produced what will become the most iconic image of the Great Depression.

Three vibrant characters anchor the narrative of Mary Coin. Mary, the migrant mother herself, emerges as a woman with deep reserves of courage and nerve, harboring private passions and carefully-guarded secrets. Vera Dare, the photographer, wrestles with creative ambition and makes the choice to leave her children to pursue her work. Walker Dodge, a present-day professor of cultural history, discovers a family mystery embedded in the picture.

In luminous, exquisitely rendered prose, Silver creates an extraordinary tale from a brief moment in history, reminding us that although a great photograph can capture the essence of a moment, it only scratches the surface of a life.