When Laura Spelman learns that she will not get well, she looks on this last illness as a journey during which she must reckon up her life, give up the nonessential, and concentrate on what she calls "the real connections". The heart of the story is Laura's realization that for her the real connections have been with womenher brilliant and devastating mother, a difficult daughter, and especially a woman she knew when she was young.
The heart of the story is Laura's realization that for her the real connections have been with women: her brilliant and devastating mother, a difficult daughter, and most of all a woman she knew when she was young.