Anna and her father Eddie arrive at the home of Dexter Styles on Manhattan Beach searching for a job during the Depression. After Eddie goes missing five years later, Anna supports her mother and sister by working at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. One night, Anna approaches Styles for information about her father. They become involved, but he is still marked by his past relationship with Eddie. Egan's description of New York in the 30s and 40s is so immersive that you feel like you're waking up when you have to put the book down.

Almost a year after failing to return from a solo hiking trip, Billie Flanagan has been presumed dead. However, her teenage daughter Olive refuses to believe it. As the anniversary of her mother’s disappearance approaches, Olive begins having visions that lead her to believe Billie is still alive and trying to communicate with her telepathically. Olive’s father, Jonathan, who has let go of any hope for Billie’s return and is writing a memoir about their lives together, believes Olive is having seizures and should be medicated.

Maggie Sheets is just trying to get by. A single mother, she works as a house cleaner and dreams of the days when her financial woes will be over. When her former employer, Liza, a renowned author Maggie once considered a friend, takes her own life, Maggie learns that she has been included in the will and now owns a beautiful home in Sag Harbor. But there's a catch: Maggie's also inherited Liza's eighty-two year old mother. Edith has always prided herself on her independence, but a recent Alzheimer's diagnosis has her wary about the future.