Jo and her family go to visit Sarah for a holiday. Lila, her temperamental youngest, is a kindred spirit with Sarah with their shared stubborn, negative attitudes. They enjoy family time, though Jo gazes with jealousy at Bethie and her husband, Harold, who are clearly in love. Bethie is also a successful entrepreneur, with the Blue Hill Farms brand now available in almost all Southern restaurants, a huge commercial building/inn/store built, and Bethie’s name and story in magazines such as The New Yorker. Harold, a war hero, started his own security company. They bought a gorgeous house near Atlanta and paid for updates to Sarah’s home. Since the sisters’ fight at Blue Hill Farm, they haven’t been as close.

While Jo compares her life to Bethie’s, she struggles to write in her free time. Often, she starts a story on the typewriter but can’t get very far. Her daughters tell her to share the stories she told them as kids, but her stories were far-fetched, with silly, lazy princes and strong princesses who saved themselves.

On the holiday, Sarah tells the girls she has some news. They notice she is pale and weak, moves slowly, and doesn’t wear her regular makeup.