The story opens with Miranda, the older of two sisters, cooking lunch for her younger sister Lucia. As Miranda sets the table, Lucia calls her to the backyard, showing her a spider and its web. Miranda tries to calm her sister, explaining that it won’t hurt her, but Lucia stops her, explaining that she thinks the spider and its web are beautiful.

Lucia introduces Miranda and their mother to Yonah, her fiancé. Miranda does not like Yonah, finding him loud and unintelligent. Soon, the sisters’ mother dies from lung cancer, and the siblings spend the evening cleaning out their mother’s things and making Chinese almond cookies. Lucia and Yonah get married at city hall, and Lucia seems to be happy, healthy, and in love. Miranda contemplates her role within Lucia’s life and how it has impacted her own.

A few months after Yonah and Lucia marry, Miranda receives a call from Yonah. He explains that Lucia has stopped sleeping and seems to be talking about things that don’t make sense. Miranda describes how Lucia received her diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder three years prior. Her first “episode” had lasted nine months, and it resulted in Lucia being admitted into a psychiatric unit.