When Vickie returns home to celebrate her grandmother Ruth's eightieth birthday, all of the clan, with one aching exception, will be there. Missing will be Vickie's mother, Lydia, killed by a train a year ago while crossing the railroad tracks. Since then, one question has haunted Vickie: Did her mother take her own life?

As the preparations for the party proceed, tensions mount. Vickie takes up again with her erstwhile lover, whom the family has always regarded as "unsuitable." Uncle Warren announces that his wife is leaving him. And old hostilities flare between Vickie and her older sister, Meryl, who is harboring a secret that will deeply affect them both.

At the height of the festivities, the enigma of Lydia, which has been expressly avoided by all, can't help but surface - and with greater consequences than anyone could have imagined. Vickie finally is pushed to reconsider her ties to those she loves, especially her mother.