Clara reflects on her life since moving to New York City. She initially worked a miserable job at an Irish pub until her roommate, Fiona, helped her get a position as a food stylist’s assistant. Clara discovered a passion and talent for the work, enjoying the artistry and trickery involved. After taking a culinary course and working in restaurant kitchens, she had built a successful freelance career. Her big break came during a magazine photo shoot for blueberry muffins, where her creative styling impressed the photographer, Philip Woolf.

Now, waking in Philip’s apartment. He tells her about a new cable station, the Food Channel, and offers to connect her with his contact there. Intrigued, Clara gives him her phone number. Back at her own apartment, she finds two messages: one from a television producer and one from Bridie, who says Clara won’t believe who she sat next to at their mother’s charity event.

Bridie attends a fundraiser for the Memorial Art Gallery with Nina and Finn. She is seated next to Dune, who is noticeably drunk. During a live auction, Bridie is captivated by a small painting titled After Monet’s Sun through Fog but is quickly outbid. Dune drunkenly tries to persuade Finn to buy the painting for her, causing a small scene before Finn escorts him home. The next morning, Dune appears at Bridie’s apartment.

After his divorce from Nina, Sam took a buyout from Xerox, and sold their family home a few years later. He moved to San Francisco to stay with his friend Garret but struggled to adapt to the unabashed openness of the city’s queer community, which made him feel out of place. During a visit, Clara confronts him about the gravity of the AIDS epidemic, pleading with him to be safe for her and Bridie’s sake. Sam is moved by her concern and promises he will be. His discomfort with the gay scene, coupled with his fear of the growing health crisis, prompts him to abruptly book a flight home to Rochester the very next day.

Dune takes Bridie to breakfast to apologize for his drunken behavior at the fundraiser. She’s impressed to learn he’s the innovator behind the recent, more sophisticated changes at Finnegan’s markets. He admits he struggles with alcohol, and Bridie, a social worker, offers her support. She’s shocked to learn Dune did not know her father, Sam, is gay. They begin spending time together, sharing stories about their lives and families. One evening, after Dune cooks dinner for Bridie at his apartment, they share their first kiss.

Clara begins working for the new Food Network. She ignores Philip’s calls for weeks, partly because she is busy and partly because she has heard he is married. When they encounter each other at a shoot, Philip clarifies that he is separated and his divorce is almost final. They begin dating, and after a year, Clara moves into Philip’s apartment. She keeps her old place, worried about what will happen if the relationship doesn’t last. She rarely checks her mail there and thus never receives the wedding invitation Bridie sends.

When Fern was still in high school, Finn discovered her amphetamine diet drop use, and wrote an article for a local paper condemning the use of weight loss programs like Weight Watchers for teens, which humiliated Honey. As an adult, Fern finds her calling as a hospice nurse, a career Honey dislikes. Fern has developed an intuition for the state of others’ relationships and is unsurprised by Dune and Bridie’s romance, though she worries it will resurrect old family tensions. Her partner, Naomi, advises her to be happy for them. Fern reflects on her own family’s drama compared to Naomi’s peaceful upbringing and recalls how her family, even Honey, was accepting when she came out.

Bridie is overwhelmed by wedding planning, dreading the potential tension that will resurface during family photo sessions and seating arrangements. She’s anxious to tell Clara about her engagement to Dune. Fearing Clara will view it as a betrayal, Bridie avoids calling her. Concerned about upsetting Bridie, Dune tries to downplay the significance of his high school relationship with Clara. He sees Bridie’s hesitation about the wedding as a lingering effect of their parents’ drama that they must overcome.

When Clara refuses to return Bridie’s calls for months, Dune travels to New York. He gets Clara’s current address from his company’s advertising agency and goes to her apartment. He’s surprised to be greeted by her boyfriend, Philip, who lets him in. During their conversation, Philip casually mentions that Clara’s mother is dead. Stunned, Dune clarifies that Nina is very much alive. A confused Philip points to a photograph of himself with Clara to confirm they are talking about the same person.

Clara goes to Zabar’s to shop for dinner and to gather ideas for an upcoming television segment. Trudging home with groceries, she mentally plans the week ahead. She enters her apartment to find Dune and Philip waiting for her. Realizing her lie about Nina has been discovered, she drops her groceries in shock.

During a taping a Mother’s Day lunch episode of the television show, Tre al Tavola, Clara is pulled on camera as a last-minute guest. When the host asks about her own mother, Clara becomes emotional and impulsively lies, stating that her mother, Nina, died suddenly in 1977. The host, moved, names a dish in Nina’s honor.

Dune reflects on the last time he saw Clara, years earlier, when she coldly ignored him while she was back in Rochester. He acknowledges he was once in love with her and was hurt by their past. At Clara’s apartment, Dune gives her the wedding invitation and leaves, feeling unsettled. He goes into a pub, the Dublin House, and orders a drink, breaking his sobriety.

Fern accompanies Honey to shop for a dress to wear to Bridie and Dune’s wedding. Honey is frustrated when a size-eight dress doesn’t fit. Remembering how Nina once switched clothing tags to spare her feelings about her weight as a child, Fern secretly swaps the size eight tag on the dress for a size 10. Honey is thrilled when the new size eight fits perfectly, but remains anxious about looking inferior to Nina at the wedding.

After Dune’s visit, Clara explains to a furious Philip that she doesn’t know why she lied about Nina being dead, but she notes that the lie prompted her to start calling Nina more often. Pressured by Philip, she agrees to attend Bridie’s wedding. When she and Philip arrive in Rochester, Bridie greets her at the airport with a warm, enthusiastic hug.

At the rehearsal dinner, Nina briefly confronts Clara, noting that the “rumors of [her] death have been greatly exaggerated” (241) but postpones a serious discussion until after the wedding. The family atmosphere is surprisingly pleasant. Later, after drinking heavily at a hotel bar with the rehearsal dinner, Clara corners a similarly intoxicated Dune. She questions his motives for seeking her out and implies they have unfinished business. She touches his arm and leans in as if to kiss him just as Bridie enters the room and sees them.

The next morning, Clara drives back to New York alone, consumed by shame. She remembers the tense breakfast she shared with Nina, who condemned her destructive behavior. Clara had broken down, admitting that her long-held anger has calcified. Nina had explained her own painful decision to leave Sam, stressing it was never easy. They shared a moment of connection, and Nina had instructed Clara to make things right with Bridie.

Months later on her rescheduled wedding day, Bridie forgoes her traditional gown for a vintage green suit. At the courthouse, she and Dune see each other and reflect on their long, shared history. Bridie recalls Dune arriving at her door a few months after the incident with Clara and presenting her with the Monet painting from the auction along with his 90-day AA sobriety chip, which renewed her hope for their future. Their families, including Nina, Finn, Honey, Hank, and Sam, are all present and interacting peacefully. Bridie briefly regrets that Clara, whom she had asked to stay away, is not there to sit with Sam. The judge pronounces Dune and Bridie married.

After the wedding, at Nina’s urging, Clara returns to Rochester to make amends. She drives past a Finnegan’s market, which she has spent years boycotting, and decides to go inside. She’s impressed with the changes Dune has made and the specialty foods now available in the store. As a nostalgic gesture, she buys a container of half-moon cookies, Bridie’s childhood favorite, and eats two in the car. Clara arrives at Bridie’s apartment. When Bridie answers the door, the sisters look at each other warily. Clara holds up the container of half-moon cookies as a peace offering. After a moment, Bridie bites back a smile and opens the screen door, allowing Clara to come inside.