Victoria and her husband Aaron drive to the vineyard they own in California. After months away in England, Victoria begins to see that something has changed in her relationship with Aaron after years of marriage. She watches him work in the vineyard and questions his outspoken contentment with the summer. Victoria reminisces on her childhood in Minnesota, pulls weeds, brings Aaron tea, and notes all the different types of grapes as she looks for clues for what seems different about Aaron. Aaron notes that he is fifty-five years old now, and he is finally starting to love California, though he and Victoria have lived there for the past twenty years. Victoria thinks about how Aaron's life has purpose because he is a doctor who cares for his patients. As Victoria walks around the vineyard, she notices a dead baby mouse and can't help but linger on it. After Victoria and Aaron leave the vineyard, they stop for a beer and go for a swim, and Aaron appears happy. They return home, back to the contentedness of their marriage and lovemaking, and Victoria continues to ponder the dead mouse. Victoria reveals what has changed in Aaron: "he has gotten there just one step ahead of her. The perfect summer, the perfect center."