Four women from Haiti, St. Thomas, and Guam meet at a college counseling session for first-year students and learn they have a shared history of abuse. Dubbing themselves the "island sisters," their unyielding friendship is their touchstone across oceans, through labyrinths of forced marriages and violent men, motherhood, and their dreams of freedom. Strong-willed and hot-headed Monique, quiet and romantic Cecilia, devout Lanei, and determined Ella are four friends who seem to makeup for what the other lacks. But no matter what is happening in their lives or the struggles they face, they share an unbreakable bond of friendship that serves as their anchor, helping and supporting each other through and through. To succeed, each woman must make choices that will challenge her long-held cultural beliefs, choices that will come with consequences, in the pursuit of her own individual freedom. The Island Sisters