Portrait artist, Gaby Greenaway, is sorting through her artist grandfather Harold’s possessions after his death, when she discovers a pile of unfinished canvasses which do not appear to have been painted by him. Many of them represent a place on the Murray River where Harold and Gaby went when she was a child, before there was a schism between them.

Gaby goes to the Murray in an effort to regain the positive feelings she had for Harold when she was young, and also to find the river scene in the paintings. There she meets her namesake, Gabriella, and quickly discovers that Gabriella is her great aunt, Harold’s sister.

Gabriella is distraught to hear of Harold’s death, and as the two women begin to get to know each other, Greenaway family stories begin to emerge, including a terrible secret about Harold and Gabriella’s father, Frank.

Meanwhile, a rumour is circulating about the unfinished canvasses, with it being suggested that Harold did not paint all of the works attributed to him.

Pentimento means the original marks on a painting revealed by removal or scraping back of the overpainting. It also means repentance. Both meanings apply to this novel, as layers are removed from family stories and the full picture is revealed.