Mary, on a public hunger strike in Guatemala City, gets the attention of the global news, which forces the corrupt Guatemalan government to give her information on her husband's whereabout. Gabe, a world-renowned archaeologist working in Tikal, has disappeared along with an an entire Indian village. The Guatemalan president reports Gabe was killed after inciting a rebellion, and his body was cremated in an active volcano. Mary and her two daughters, Lola and Mia, grieve for him in Philadelphia, now their home.
A year and a half later, Restin, now divorced, changes careers and uses his photography skills for National Geographic magazine. He invites brokenhearted Mary, who he calls Red because of her red hair, to join him on a photoshoot in Italy. Restin confides to Mary's mother that he hopes to win Mary's heart, and her mother suggests he take an engagement ring on the trip.
The pair visit the pilgrimage city of Assisi and are humbled by the story of Saint Francis and marvel at Giotto's art that pictures the saint feeding the birds. In Florence, Restin photographs ancient Egyptian art, ushabti figurines, collected by the Medici family long ago. Mary helps him write commentary. While in Florence, the pair visit the Uffizi museum and the Academia, where Mary gives Restin an art history tour of famous Renaissance art, including Botticelli's "Primavera" and "The Birth of Venus," and Michelangelo's "David." They finish their Italian trip in Rome, where they are amazed by the circular ruin of the Pantheon and Caravaggio's most famous Baroque painting, "The Calling of Saint Matthew."
The two enjoy each other's company, so Mary, no longer lonely, agrees to travel to Greece where Restin has a job to photograph ancient Cycladic art. First they stop in Santorini at the newly discovered ruins of Akortiri. Then they travel to Naxos, a lovey Greek Island and home of five thousand year old Cycladic marble figurines. After several weeks together, Restin and Mary begin a passionate relationship.
The museum in Florence asks Restin to accompany the ushabti figurines to Egypt, where they will be repatriated in the world-famous Egyptian National Museum. He invites Mary to join him. They have fallen deeply in love, so continue honeymooning while visiting the pyramids, the Sphinx, Abu Simbel, and sailing on the Nile.
The couple abruptly return to Philadelphia after Red finds out she is pregnant. There they learn Gabe is alive.
