In 1922 New York City, Cora was the chaperone of Louise, a teenager from Kansas determined to become a star. Two different generations with two different outlooks on life concerning outward appearances, behavior, and ambition. "Maybe the old rules were changing." Maybe Cora "was falling behind the times, as provincial and outmoded in her thinking as in her dress." But on the other hand, the young "can drag you, as you protest and scold and try to pull away, right up to the window of the future, and even push you through." Later on Cora realized: "She'd lived too much of her life so stupidly, following nonsensical rules, as if she...as if anyone, had all the time in the world." After that life-changing summer, Cora went back to Kansas and Louise was off to Hollywood.
Author Laura Moriarty shows us the 20th century, the many historical events that affected Cora, Louise, and those around them. They both lived long lives. "Louise had just been more open about it, not bothering to hide or deceive." Cora kept secrets mostly to protect those involved from harsh judgments. She realized "how much her life's ease and happiness had been granted by chance."
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