Margaret says people always ask what it was like to grow up like royalty. Her childhood was sometimes magical, full of extraordinary things like the circus performing at her birthday party and her parents bringing snow to their yard for Christmas.

Though their home was lavish and she could have whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted, however, what Margaret loved was her family surrounding her. She had exotic pets and custom-made clothes, but her favorite memories were of when her parents spent time with her and Laura. After her mom returned to work, nannies cared for Margaret and Laura, and the family rarely shared meals. Margaret noticed her parents’ strained relationship and felt scared and lonely.

Margaret says her parents got divorced because Doris was “The kind of woman who wanted to have it all” (213). The divorce was hard on everyone, and her mom and dad weren’t in contact for a while. Frederick attended one of Doris’s movies and sent her flowers afterward. That restarted their friendship, which continued until his death. Doris remarried Roy and stayed with him for 30 years, while Frederick had several more wives. Margaret and Laura were close to Roy but never really knew their stepmothers. Doris never stopped loving Frederick, wishing he could have been the man she needed him to be. Alice asks what he could have done to make it right, and Margaret replies that when you love someone, you move heaven and earth for them.

On the drive to visit her mom, Hayden notices that Alice is distracted, and she mentions processing her meeting with Margaret but doesn’t elaborate. She reflects on how truth comes to light and notes that Margaret was honest for the first time. Hayden asks if she feels anxious about seeing her mom. Alice wishes she would grow out of trying to please her mom. She believes that Hayden’s parents must adore him because of his prestigious award, but he feels it only increased their expectations. Now they expect continued success, while Hayden values the quality of his work and the joy of good writing over awards and recognition.

They arrive at Alice’s childhood home, where her mom, Angie, works in the extensive garden, her favorite place. Though surrounded by so much that is familiar, Alice struggles to feel at home there but isn’t sure why. Angie greets them warmly and goes to shower while Alice and Hayden get settled. Alice catches him looking at a photo of their family, and when he asks if she misses home, she says, “Sometimes.”

Alice’s and Audrey’s rooms are still decorated the same way they were when they were teenagers, and she’s embarrassed to show them to Hayden. He notices a photo of her father in her room and pulls her into a comforting hug. They go for a walk, hand in hand, and Alice realizes that she’s falling in love with Hayden.

Alice helps her mom make dinner and plays the “cooking playlist” her dad created. The first song is “Say You Will (Be Mine)” by Cosmo. Hayden joins to assist, and then “Peggy All the Time” plays, a song Cosmo wrote about Margaret. She recalls her father singing, “It’s Angie all the time. / Angie all over my mind” (230), substituting his wife’s name. Alice fights back tears, and Hayden sees that she’s emotional. After dinner, Angie shares how she met her husband, a story Alice knows well. Angie claims that she “hated” him initially but learned to appreciate his quirkiness and intellect. Only after losing him did she realize what a gift he was. Alice tries to comfort her mom, but Angie suppresses her feelings and offers dessert.

Hayden can’t sleep and sits in the garden. Alice joins him, and he says that he has been a night owl since he was young. Because his family was so public, nighttime was the only time he could truly be alone and unseen. They fall asleep together and wake up the next morning as Angie gathers eggs for breakfast. Hayden goes for a run and then returns to help Angie prepare lunch. While he showers, Alice helps her mom in the kitchen. Angie likes Hayden and says she enjoyed his book. Hayden gave Angie some of Alice’s work to read, and she says it was good. She says Alice has “always been talented” and “could be doing anything” (240), which isn’t the compliment Alice would like. She knows she should tell her mom how she feels about her disregarding her vocation, but she fears fighting with her mom, which she knows would disappoint her dad.

After lunch, Hayden and Alice leave in silence. Hayden presses Alice to share what’s wrong, but she only gets angry and regrets bringing him home. They don’t speak for the rest of the trip, and he says “[g]oodbye” instead of “[g]oodnight.” Alice appears upset at her next meeting with Margaret but doesn’t share. Margaret notes that Hayden is likewise reluctant to talk about himself. Again, she asks Alice if he’s trustworthy, to which Alice responds yes. Alice realizes that she trusts him, explaining her reaction to his suggestion about working on her relationship with her mom.

Though Laura was the prettier of the two sisters, Margaret was more extroverted, which made her popular with the paparazzi. She always did something zany to get attention, while Laura didn’t like being photographed. Margaret, “drew the public eye everywhere she went, sometimes by accident, but often by design” (247). After Ruth and her husband died in a plane crash, Gerald had a stroke, and Laura became his caretaker. Ruth’s untimely death broke Margaret’s heart, and she dealt with her grief by becoming distant from the family. Desiring a “big” life, Margaret traveled the world acting and modeling, rubbing elbows with stars like Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe. She even staged a photo with her and James Dean riding his motorcycle, in which she wore a veil. These media stunts earned her the nicknames “Tabloid Princess” and “Two-Date Peggy” (249). She rarely dated anyone but didn’t care about the rumors and gossip. Laura was a huge fan of Cosmo Sinclair, and Margaret planned to take Laura to his concert, a night that would “change their lives forever” (251).

At the end of their session, Margaret mentions that a storm is coming and invites Alice to stay. Alice is experienced with storms and goes to the store for supplies. She hasn’t heard from Hayden since their trip but discovers that her phone is dead upon returning home. As the storm intensifies, the power goes out before her phone charges. She plans to review her notes when there’s a loud knock at the door. It’s Hayden, soaked and apologetic about their argument, claiming that he can explain. She offers him towels and dry clothes. He hugs her tightly and then kisses her deeply, though it’s over too soon.

Hayden must borrow Alice’s clothes, and she stifles a laugh when she sees him. Hayden turns serious and shares why he was so upset that she wouldn’t acknowledge her feelings about her mother. When he was young, his mom had depression but hid it from everyone because of the family’s public position. It became so bad that she attempted to overdose. Hayden doesn’t want Alice to be “good at pretending to be fine” (261) when he knows how dangerous that can be. They begin kissing, and Alice removes her top and pants. They’re intimate but don’t have sex. Hayden says they can when the interview process is over but confesses that he worries about what will happen to them no matter who wins, since they barely know each other. He wants to be with her but isn’t certain how it will work out. He says he’ll quit the project if necessary, but Alice refuses to let him.

Hayden stays the night, and though they sleep together in the bed, touching one another all night, they don’t have sex. Before he leaves, they make plans to see each other that night. Alice recharges her phone, and when she sees a text from Theo, she decides she’s done with him. She has several missed calls from her mom and worries that something is wrong with Audrey. Alice calls her mom, who assures her that Audrey is fine. Angie was just concerned about the storm. They make small talk, and the call ends awkwardly as Alice laments their communication issues.

She and Hayden have dinner, and he shields his laptop so that she can’t see his work. They share a passionate kiss when he walks her home, and she regrets not inviting him to stay over. At her next meeting with Margaret, she notices Alice’s happier mood. Margaret takes Alice on the boat to her favorite spot to collect trash. Alice is ready to begin the interview, but Margaret hesitates, saying they’ve come to the part of the story that contains her “greatest mistakes.”

Margaret and Laura went to see Cosmo in concert, dressed in disguises and begging the gardener to help them escape the house since it was swarmed by paparazzi. They had dinner at a diner like regular girls, and Margaret was intent on using the night to recapture some of the magic of their childhood. They reflected on their parents’ relationship, and Margaret considered that she wasn’t sure what it felt like to be in love, but she knew she loved Laura. They enjoyed being lost in the crowd, unrecognized.

Cosmo’s performance mesmerized them, and Laura was enthralled. Suddenly, the crowd rushed the stage, and Margaret lost sight of Laura. Margaret was injured and found Laura with a bloody nose, being helped by a security guard and their driver, Darrin. They lost their disguises, and as Darrin gathered them into the car, paparazzi descended, snapping photos. Laura told Gerald their location, which is how Darrin found them. Gerald was dying, and by the time they got home, he was dead. Laura felt guilty, as if he’d died because she chose to leave. The next morning, as Margaret scoured the headlines and the many photos of her and Laura, Cosmo Sinclair arrived at the house. Laura refused to see him, so Margaret met with him alone.

Alice wishes she could share everything Margaret tells her with Hayden, compare notes, and compare how each would approach telling the story. When she tells Hayden that most of her time with Margaret is spent just listening, he thinks they’re having “different experiences” but won’t say more until the competition ends next week. Alice suggests that they do something “fun” over the weekend to get their minds off work. Hayden suggests revisiting her mom, but Alice asserts that seeing her mom and telling her that her disapproval of her career hurts her feelings won’t change much.

They go back to her rental house and can’t resist each other. They’re again intimate without having sex, though Alice is ready. Afterward, Hayden tells Alice he’s falling in love with her but doesn’t want her to respond yet, though she wants to tell him she feels the same way. The worry still lingers about what will happen next week and beyond when they return to New York and Los Angeles, far from each other.

Alice begins preparing for the end of her trip. She decides to pitch the book as a “call and response,” meaning that she presents the assumptions the press and public have made about Margaret and offers a response through Margaret’s telling of her story. Alice purchases souvenirs for her friends and family. She stops at the coffee shop and sees Cecil. Cecil tells her to tell Hayden he found the photo of himself from the 70s with long hair that he promised to show him. Alice wonders why Hayden would want to see the image and asks him later over dinner. He tells her to see the photo for herself, but he won’t tell her why he wants to see it until after their competition ends. Alice finds Cecil’s number and looks at the photo. She meets with Margaret again, this time in her pool.

People say Margaret and Cosmo fell in love at first sight, but she was angry and rude when he arrived. He brought flowers and apologized for what happened at the show, inviting them to return to watch the final performance from a private spot. Margaret knew Laura would refuse, unable to face Cosmo without thinking of Gerald’s loss. Nonetheless, she agreed to go and was again swept away by Cosmo’s charm and voice during the concert. He kissed her after the show, and she stayed with him that night. After he left, he sent flowers and letters, but she never responded. Laura became increasingly detached, rarely leaving the house and depending on sleeping pills and books.

One of Bernie’s films was nominated for an Academy Award, and she took Margaret as her date. After the ceremony, Bernie went home, but Margaret attended a star-studded after-party. Cosmo arrived with a starlet on his arm but paid her no attention the rest of the night as he couldn’t stop staring at Margaret. The press captured them in a photo together and speculated that they were falling in love.