Cal is rejected by military recruiters because of his uneven legs and watches his peers ship off to war.

Cal marries Becky Hanover, and her father Roman gives Cal a job managing his hardware store.

Becky begins holding séances for grieving neighbors, and Cal argues with her about the unwanted attention it brings.

Margaret kisses Cal passionately in the hardware store when they learn together that Hitler has surrendered.

Cal and Margaret begin meeting secretly each week for an affair, each drawn by a connection missing in their own marriages.

Felix's ship is torpedoed in the Pacific; his lover Augie drowns, and Felix is badly wounded.

Margaret learns Felix survived and cuts off her affair with Cal, preparing for his return home.

Margaret gives birth to a boy named Tom; Felix is overjoyed, but Margaret struggles deeply with motherhood.

Nine-year-old Skip Jenkins rescues Tom from older bullies and the two boys become close friends.

Margaret finds a love note Felix wrote to another person tucked inside a dry-cleaned jacket pocket.

Margaret reveals that Cal is Tom's biological father, writes letters to Felix and Becky, and leaves Bonhomie.

Becky and Cal separate after she receives Margaret's letter revealing his affair.

Skip enlists in the Marines after a military recruiter buys him and his friends drinks at a bar.

Skip is killed during the Tet Offensive, and Cal and Becky are devastated by the loss of their son.

Cal and Becky finally take their long-postponed honeymoon, each reflecting on the complexity of marriage and life.

The Main Plot pool follows Cal Jenkins from his rejection by military recruiters through his marriage to Becky and his fateful affair with Margaret Salt during World War II. The affair produces a secret that haunts both families for decades: Tom Salt is Cal's biological son, a truth Margaret reveals before abandoning her family. Becky and Cal's marriage fractures under the weight of betrayal, while their son Skip enlists in Vietnam and is killed during the Tet Offensive. In the grief that follows Skip's death, Becky and Cal find their way back to each other. The novel closes with the couple finally taking the honeymoon they postponed because of the war, each reflecting on the hard-won wisdom of a long and complicated life together.

The central story of secrets, war, and two marriages tested across decades.

Everett Jenkins shows signs of deep trauma from World War I, hoarding objects and struggling to parent his son Cal.

Becky hands Cal a letter she wrote as a child, asking him to keep it until her sixtieth birthday.

Skip is born after a long, difficult pregnancy, and the doctor warns Becky this should be her only child.

A researcher named Casey arrives in Bonhomie to interview Becky and secretly plans to recruit her for a traveling spirit show.

Roman and Cal confront Casey at the train station with a hammer and force him to leave town.

Margaret's first job in Columbus ends badly when the married cafeteria owner pressures her into sex and then reveals his wife.

Margaret and Felix relocate from Columbus to the small town of Bonhomie after Felix receives a job promotion.

Margaret joins a social group of war wives and feels genuine community in Bonhomie for the first time.

Margaret returns to the hardware store looking for Cal and invites him to the war wives dance club.

Felix wakes in a Manila hospital repeatedly asking about Augie before doctors transfer him to a psychologist in San Francisco.

Felix loses his executive job and takes work as a furniture builder, finding genuine happiness for the first time in years.

Everett gets drunk after his dog dies and accidentally burns his house down, surviving only because he slept in his bomb shelter.

Everett moves in with Cal and Becky, observes their family life, and apologizes to Cal for his failures as a father.

The Vietnam draft lottery is held, and Tom narrowly escapes being called to serve.

Tom and his long-term girlfriend Kathy announce their plans to adopt a child, bringing Becky and Cal great joy.

The Secondary Events pool fills in the lives of both families through the scenes that didn't make the headline story. Cal's father Everett carries the trauma of World War I into every corner of domestic life, while Becky's eccentric individuality is established early through her childhood letter and her growing séance practice. Margaret's difficult start in Columbus and her reluctant move to Bonhomie explain the deep dissatisfaction that helps propel her affair with Cal. Felix's post-war path toward healing includes an honest friendship with a coworker and a furniture job that brings him unexpected joy. The pool closes with the next generation: Tom and Kathy's plan to adopt marks a hopeful new chapter for a family line that has been tested for decades.

The supporting moments and characters that shaped the Salt and Jenkins families.

Margaret moves to Columbus as a young woman after orphanage director Lydia arranges a room and a job for her.

Margaret meets Felix Salt through a coworker and accepts his marriage proposal despite being unsure she loves him.

Felix announces he will join the Navy as an officer, leaving Margaret to manage life in Bonhomie alone.

Felix and Augie have sex during shore leave on a Pacific island; Felix knows their relationship can have no future.

Cal notices that Tom has a cowlick identical to his own when Felix brings the boy to Becky's séance.

Felix visits Becky with a private written note for Augie; she channels Augie's spirit and Felix feels profound relief.

Margaret angrily forces Skip out of her house during a sleepover, confusing and upsetting both Felix and Tom.

Felix confesses to Margaret that he is gay and believed that marrying a woman might cure his attraction to men.

Becky and Cal reconcile following Roman's death after Ida counsels Becky that marriage provides strength across a lifetime.

Tom is wounded at an anti-war protest but escapes his attacker by using a fighting tip Skip gave him as a child.

News of the My Lai Massacre reaches the American public, deepening the nation's opposition to the Vietnam War.

Felix, Cal, and Becky together tell Tom the full truth about Cal being his biological father.

Tom travels to Columbus and silently follows Margaret to her workplace but cannot bring himself to speak to her.

Tom returns to Bonhomie to care for the dying Felix, and the two reconcile before Felix passes away.

Margaret arrives in Bonhomie too late to see Felix; Tom hugs her tightly and then walks away.

The Turning Points and Revelations pool captures the moments of discovery and choice that redirected the novel's major characters. Margaret's move from the orphanage to Columbus to an unhappy marriage sets the stage for the fractures that will eventually crack her family open. Felix's secret love for Augie and Becky's uncanny channeling of Augie's spirit provide two of the novel's most emotionally charged scenes. When Felix finally confesses his sexuality to Margaret, everything changes: families split, truths are revealed, and Tom spends years estranged from everyone who shaped his life. The pool closes with reconciliation—Tom caring for a dying Felix, and Margaret arriving too late but still receiving her son's embrace, however final it feels.

The discoveries and decisions that permanently changed every character's course.