A man and his wife, Gail, prepare for the birth of their first baby. The man writes to his mother in Montana, telling her about the progress of Gail's pregnancy and their garden. A few months earlier, around Christmastime, he wanted to visit his mother and return to Montana where he grew up, but Gail worried about traveling already two months along. His mother immigrated to eastern Montana after World War II and admired the vast nothingness of the plains. Back in California, Gail participates in a recipe exchange with thousands of other people. As she receives recipes from people all across the United States, she always tests them out although some prove inedible. Gail, too, writes to her Mother-in-Law and tells her of her recipe pursuits. While Gail and her husband settle on the name Grace rather quickly, should there baby be a girl, they struggle to find a boy's name they like. Gail thinks of her male relatives: cousins and uncles, but their names don't resonate. One night, Gail prepares potato soup with potatoes from their garden, but before she or her husband can taste it, Gail goes into labor. Rain begins to fall as Gail is rushed to the hospital by her husband. When they arrive, Gail is wheeled away and as her husband waits, he finds a napkin in his pocket and begins a new letter to his mother.