Six-year-old Karla wants a family. And she already picked out her parents: Anna, her aunt and guardian, and her painting teacher and best friend, Jonas.
Karla's mother died in a car crash in Switzerland, and her biological father lives at the other end of the world.
For a while things look promising. Anna and Jonas, who take care of the talented but troubled child, develop feelings for each other that go beyond friendship. Love, however, does not come easy to the two adults who grapple with a past of loss and betrayal. Anna struggles with the deception of her former husband and her distrust in men, and Jonas, the artist, mourns the death of his wife. And when Anna discovers a sinister secrete in Jonas's past, the budding romance hits a definite snag.
Now Karla and her friend, Maja, are on a mission to bring the uncooperative adults back together. Their plan, however, creates havoc and Karla has to learn some difficult lessons.
AN UNCOMMON FAMILY is a story about loss, lies, and betrayal, but also about the healing power of love and forgiveness. It takes place in Switzerland, New York City, and Guadalajara, Mexico.