A compelling page-turner, Stephen Andes fascinating biography positions Sofía del Valle (1891–1982), the book's protagonist, as a compelling figure whose life and life's mission—educating young Catholic women—intersect with the social, political, and religious turmoil of postrevolutionary Mexico. Her pious activism in the support of the Instituto Superior de Cultura Femenina and its sister organization the Juventud Catòlica Feminina Mexicana—Catholic organizations dedicated to providing educational opportunities to young women—takes del Valle to Europe and the United States on a quest for financial support from international Catholic organizations. In this study, the author weaves together del Valle's story with that of a changing Mexico and its many seminal moments, inviting the reader to join his journey through the research and writing process.

Not a well-known figure outside of certain circles, Sofía del Valle is narrated as a character full of contradictions. She is devoutly Catholic and interested in providing a well-rounded and morally upright education to young women through her work with the two institutions she helped found. To support the school, she is transformed into a social activist who travels the globe, building networks with organizations like the International Union of Catholic Women's Leagues (the largest international Catholic women's association in the world), speaking at conferences about “religious prosecution in Mexico,” meeting preeminent cardinals and archbishops and having an audience with the pope. At the same time, the author notes that del Valle does not necessarily reject the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Indeed, throughout the book, the author traces the cherished years-long friendship she enjoyed with Miguel Darío Miranda. Andes quotes extensively from the correspondence they share over the years.

The letters trace the financial challenges they faced to fund their beneficent endeavors and, more importantly, the tensions in their relationship as del Valle's importance and influence grew internationally. She chafed under the authority Darío Miranda and others in the Church hierarchy held over her. Nevertheless, she accepted the male-dominated hierarchy, and she was “conservative in her commitment to chaste sexuality, traditional in adhering to complementary gender roles” (193).

From the beginning, the author acknowledges his place as a character in the study. He includes a series of ‘interludes’ in which he explicitly invites the reader to think about conducting research on del Valle, organizing the gathered information, and understanding “the author's process in interpreting her life.” These interludes situate the reader in a larger discussion of what history is: a form of narrative, a feature it shares with fiction, one in which both the reader and the author can construct together. “There is no definitive Sofía del Valle. But we, you and I, can say something about Sofía.” As he constructs a complex portrait of his protagonist, he humanizes himself as a fallible historian, thus breaking “the spell of historical objectivity” (xvi). He shares with readers the mysteries and vagaries of the research process: meeting by happenstance del Valle's surviving family leads to a series of unexpected interviews with a group of distinguished women (viejitas, the author calls them). Among them was the mother-in-law of Mexican president Felipe Calderòn. These fortuitous twists and turns shape the narrative as much as the events in Sofía del Valle's life do, perhaps more so.

Andes constructs this Sofía using correspondence between del Valle and Miranda, interviews, and documents from the Vatican Archives, the Library of Congress, and others. He quotes from these texts extensively, particularly the letters, using them to imagine the inner thoughts of Sofía del Valle as she moves through her life, faces challenges, and enjoys successes. Other characters that inhabit del Valle's narrative are also given space to share their lives and thoughts. In his study, the author creates a compelling narrative, one in which the reader is as invested in the characters as he is.