Georgia, now in late middle age, lives in Ontario with her boyfriend. Together, they sell raspberries and run a little publishing business, and sometimes, she uses the proceeds to visit her sons in Vancouver. Not in years has she visited Victoria, where she grew up. But one day, an impulse she cannot explain impels her to go back. She phones Raymond, whom she has known since college, to set up a visit, and a week later, she walks into his living room. Raymond, a gynecologist, was once married to Maya, Georgia's deceased former best friend, and the two of them often entertained Georgia and Ben, her former husband. She and Raymond catch up and reminisce about Maya in the fantastic garden that she designed before her death. Raymond is happily remarried, as is Ben, but when she leaves, she can tell that Raymond has begun to grow lonely. The four of them, along with another couple named Hilda and Harvey --they have also since split up, as Harvey was having an affair with Maya -- have known each other since childhood. Just after Ben and Georgia started dating as teens, Maya and Georgia became best friends, both as wives and themselves. For years, they spun fantastic stories together and spoke of anything and everything. One summer, while Ben is away on a Navy tour, Georgia had an affair with a married diver, Miles. It ended soon after it began, as did Georgia's friendship with Maya when the latter had sex with Miles. Georgia cuts her off mercilessly, and she does the same to Ben when she tells him the truth months later. Years later, in the present, Georgia tears herself away from Raymond with great difficulty. Walking down the street, she contemplates her life, mentally leaving Raymond, Miles, Maya, and even Ben behind.