A Korean-American man runs into an old ex-girlfriend, Philipa, in Boston. Philipa inquires after his cousin, Ann, whom she had been close with. The protagonist remembers how Ann and her mother, his aunt, emigrated to the states from South Korea after his uncle died. Ann and his aunt each had a different relationship with his uncle's death. Ann told a story about his uncle playing with tops with other boys and getting in a fight with his aunt's brother (to later marry his aunt) which his aunt said never happened. When the narrator started bringing Philipa home, Ann loved her and the two became close. Philipa gave Ann a scarf and taught her how to speak like a haughty lady. One day, on the train back to Boston, Philipa told the narrator she wasn't going to visit anymore, that she felt like her life was moving too fast, and they broke up.

Ann grew up to travel the world. The narrator's aunt was upset she was always gone, traveling countries cheaply, working illegally. The last time the narrator saw her, she met him in NYC for his birthday. Then, she got into a motorcycle accident in Thailand and died. His aunt did all her laundry the next day and folded all her clothes and put them in boxes. The narrator found the scarf Philipa gave her in one.

In the present, the narrator tells Philipa Ann is doing well, that they're both doing well, and imagines Ann alive in his mind, flashing back in time, living a full life. He imagines himself traveling and spinning tops. His gift to Philipa, and perhaps Ann, is the imagining of Ann's life.