Garrett is on the job, heading out with his partner to check on a trap that they believe may contain a wolverine. Garrett thinks about how his friendship with his research partner, Bengt Isaksson, is the closest he has come to true friendship since college. No one, however, can fill the void created by Charlie’s absence. They reach the trap and tranquilize the wolverine so that they can download the data from its GPS collar.

The narrative switches to Cece’s point of view: She leaves the restaurant where she waits tables to meet Garrett and Lana at Big Sky Pizza—their dinner tradition when Garrett returns from field work. Cece has given up on entering a PhD program; she is frustrated by her low-paying job and by how much time Garrett spends away from home. Lana jokes throughout the dinner, wearing fake joke teeth that Garrett gave her. When she mimics a pro-gun slogan that she saw on a T-shirt, Cece flies into a rage, causing Lana to cry. Garrett smooths things over by producing more fake teeth and then leading them in a family pact to deal with their anger differently in the future.

Months pass, and Charlie has dinner at home with his wife and their children. Everyone is in a good mood, and the atmosphere is pleasant. Charlie thinks about the visit with Garrett and Cece at the lake, knowing now that the invitation was a mistake. He had thought that he could prove that he no longer loved Cece, but his love for her came rushing back as soon as he saw her. He recalls the depression he sunk into after she ended their brief marriage: He began smoking, and it was only after his brother, Jake, moved in with him that Charlie began to heal a bit. Jake introduced him to Angeliki, his current wife, and their son, Jasper, was born six months after their wedding.

Days pass, and while Angeliki is out of town for work, Jasper begins behaving strangely. He is constantly exhausted and then faints at school. Charlie notes that he is mixing up words. In the car on the way to school one morning, Jasper slumps in his seat. Charlie checks his pulse and discovers that it is dangerously slow. He rushes to Good Samaritan Hospital, passing cars recklessly and even driving on the curb. As he drives, Charlie pictures Garrett on skis, weaving amid the slopes.

Five years pass, and Cece, Garrett, and Lana have been visiting the Margolis cabin each summer. One day, 14-year-old Lana sneaks off to the lake despite her mother forbidding her to swim alone. She is tempted to do so but turns back. She stumbles and falls on the gravel road; she is almost struck by a car that speeds around the corner.

She returns to the cabin to find Jasper in a hammock. She asks him questions about his pacemaker and his condition—sick sinus syndrome—and then tells him that Cece and Charlie were briefly married. Jasper responds with incredulity. They briefly kiss, and when Lana says that she wants to do something daring, Jasper suggests that they retrieve a bottle of wine from the cottage basement. However, as they sneak into the basement, they discover Cece and Charlie there, embracing; the teens immediately sneak out.

Three years pass—and, along with them, the COVID-19 pandemic. Charlie and Angeliki divorce, and that summer, Charlie brings a new girlfriend to the lake. Jasper and Lana spend time alone, kissing and engaging in oral sex. They share edible marijuana and talk about Jasper’s dislike of Charlie’s girlfriend, Becky. He insists that Charlie only likes Becky because she looks like Cece. As they talk, Jasper’s sister, Teá, and her friend Pranavi appear, reporting that Charlie and Becky are fighting. They reveal Becky’s phone, which they have stolen. The four try to think of something incriminating to do to the phone. Lana pulls up one of the songs that Jasper has posted on YouTube of himself playing original music. This angers Jasper, and Lana leaves the orchard, heading toward the cottage. She returns the phone to the primary bedroom by climbing a ladder and entering the room through a window.

A month passes, and Cece—who has opened a bookstore in Salish—prepares for a reading by her favorite author, Gail Tippler. Garrett is doing field work, and Cece thinks about their marriage: She misses him but relishes the time away from him. She has had two encounters with Charlie in which they suddenly embraced, but neither said anything about these moments afterward. At times, Cece thinks about the life she would have had with him.

Nervous about the night’s event, Cece takes one of Garrett’s beta blockers. Later, Lana points out that Cece has mistakenly taken Ambien, a sleeping medication, instead. With the help of Lana and Cece’s friend Kayla, Cece arrives at the bookstore in a semi-conscious state. A storm has rolled in, and Cece worries that no one will come. She receives a text message from Gail explaining that she has gotten caught in the storm; by the time Gail arrives, the Ambien has significantly impaired Cece’s ability to function. Though only a single man takes a seat in the audience, Gail begins to read. Kayla needles Cece, but Cece falls asleep. The only audience member leaves in a huff when the reading finishes, having falsely believed that the event was an open mic. Gail refuses Cece’s dinner invitation and then leaves without signing any of the books that Cece had ordered for the store.

Cece cries in the bathroom, wondering if she should have tried to explain the Ambien incident to Gail. Then, a text message from Charlie pops up on her phone: He is in town and asks if Cece will meet him for a drink.

Charlie invites Garrett to join him and Jasper on a ski trip. Jasper, now 20, is just out of a rehabilitation facility for addiction. Garrett has not skied much since the death of Elias and is unsure why Charlie has invited him. Charlie thinks about the time when he and Cece had sex after the Gail Tippler reading—he has not had any contact with Cece since.

Charlie and Garrett ski while Jasper, complaining of an upset stomach, remains in the lodge. At one point, Charlie loses one of his gloves, and Garrett invites him to share one of his. They take a break and have hot chocolate in the lodge with Jasper. When the two are alone, Garrett tries to connect with Jasper, telling him about his own hospitalization after Elias’s death. Jasper angrily tells him that Charlie has told him that he wished it were Garrett, not Elias, who died that day.

They convince Jasper to ski and are delighted to see that a new run is opening. Charlie lets Jasper ski the untouched snow first, and Jasper, though he does not really care about skiing, decides that he will make his father happy by accepting this gift.