Growing up in a close-knit Italian Catholic family in Burlington, Ontario, fourteen-year-old Bella Rossi is a late bloomer. Tall and striking with deep blue eyes, she remains her own harshest critic, struggling with a lack of curves and a negative self-image fueled by the pressures of social media. As she prepares to enter high school with her best friend Debbie, Bella's world is upended by a secret much larger than her own insecurities.

Her nineteen-year-old sister, Amy, is on the cusp of leaving for university when she discovers she is pregnant. What follows is a moving journey of sisterhood, love, and difficult choices. As Amy and her boyfriend Kevin navigate the unexpected path of young parenthood, Bella finds herself maturing in ways she never expected—transitioning from a self-conscious child to a young woman discovering her own voice and desires.

Spanning years of family milestones, ALTRUISTIC COMPASS is an intimate look at the bonds of the Rossi family. It is a story about navigating the "unknown possibilities" of life, the beauty of supportive love, and finding one’s way even when the road ahead is unfamiliar.