The summer after Abby Hansen's first year of college -- and several months after doctors find a malignant tumor in her mother Helen's brain -- she and her parents drive to northern New Hampshire to say goodbye to a lifetime of friends. During a single week at a historic resort, the family welcomes a small procession of visitors, and shares with them the heartache of Helen's imminent passing. As the week progresses, the Hansens and their guests deal with Helen's illness in varied, sometimes surprising ways, and Abby, drawn to the youthful, mischievous staff of the hotel is torn between her duties to her family and the pleasures of her new life as an adult. For all involved, the occasion unexpectedly becomes one of awakening rather than farewell, as they discover how life inevitably blossoms in the face of death.