Emmy spots a broken window at Primrose Bridal, helps shop owner Mrs. Crofton clean the glass, and asks about a job.

Mrs. Crofton hires Emmy after she completes a hem in seventeen minutes and promises to recommend her to designer cousin Graham Dabney.

Emmy receives an evacuation order requiring London's children to leave the city, forcing her to give up her new position at Primrose Bridal.

Charlotte Havelock offers to take both Emmy and Julia to her home, Thistle House, when no other family will accept both sisters.

Mrs. Crofton writes to Emmy that Graham Dabney likes her sketches and wants to meet her at his London home to discuss an apprenticeship.

Julia discovers Emmy's secret plan to leave Thistle House and threatens to tell Charlotte unless Emmy takes her along to London.

Emmy arrives at her appointment with Graham and discovers Julia secretly swapped the brides box for a fairy-tale book before they left.

The Blitz begins on the same day Emmy visits Graham, and when she reaches the flat that night, Julia is nowhere to be found.

After days of fruitless searching, Emmy goes to a casualty inquiry point and finds her mother Annie's name listed among the dead.

Emmy assumes the identity of Mrs. Crofton's deceased daughter Isabel and joins the Women's Volunteer Service while searching London for Julia.

Bombs destroy Primrose Bridal with Emmy inside; Mac rescues her from the burning building and drives her back to Thistle House.

Emmy collects her inheritance from her deceased father Henry Thorne and is brought to meet his wife Agnes, who berates her as a fraud.

Emmy discovers she is pregnant with Mac's child, and Charlotte encourages her to accept happiness, leading Emmy to marry Mac.

Emmy receives Charlotte's posthumous letter leaving her Thistle House and finally tells Mac the full truth about her real identity.

Mac shows Isabel a newspaper photo of a bride in one of Emmy's sketched designs, recognizes the woman as Julia, and arranges for the sisters to reunite.

Emmy Downtree dreams of becoming a bridal gown designer in wartime London, landing a position at Primrose Bridal and earning a chance to apprentice with a renowned designer. Forced to evacuate with her younger sister Julia, Emmy secretly returns to London on the very day the Blitz begins, leading to Julia's disappearance and their mother Annie's death. Emmy assumes the identity of the shop owner's deceased daughter Isabel Crofton to survive and continue searching for Julia, forming a deep bond with American journalist Mac MacFarland and foster mother Charlotte Havelock. After uncovering the truth about her wealthy father and inheriting Thistle House from Charlotte, Emmy marries Mac and builds a life in America while carrying decades of guilt. Mac eventually recognizes Julia in a newspaper photo wearing one of Emmy's sketched wedding dresses and arranges for the sisters to finally reunite at Thistle House. Together, their families make their permanent home there until Julia's death from cancer and Simon's death a few years before Kendra's interview.

Emmy's war, loss, and long-awaited reunion with Julia.

Kendra Van Zant arrives to interview Blitz survivor Isabel MacFarland, who immediately reveals that her real name is not Isabel.

Emmy confronts Annie about suspected sex work and her new job at Primrose Bridal, and the argument ends with Annie breaking a teacup.

Annie reads a letter revealing that Neville died in a car accident and realizes he had lied about his name, his parents, and his identity.

Emmy visits Mrs. Crofton to explain the evacuation order but promises she will return to London as soon as she is able.

Emmy and Annie share a tense and unresolved farewell when Emmy and Julia board the bus that will take them to the countryside.

Charlotte purchases specialized drawing supplies for Emmy and offers her own wedding dress for Emmy to deconstruct and study for her sewing practice.

Emmy secretly writes farewell letters to both Julia and Charlotte, planning to slip away from Thistle House before dawn.

Emmy regains consciousness in a church bomb shelter after hitting her head on a brick during the Blitz and being carried to safety.

Annie tells Emmy that Julia's disappearance is not Emmy's fault, then dresses in gray and leaves the flat to seek help from someone with money.

Emmy learns from billeting records that Charlotte reported both Emmy and Julia Downtree as runaways on the day the Blitz began.

Emmy is diagnosed with pneumonia at Thistle House and spends weeks convalescing, reading books and slowly adapting to life as Isabel.

Mac reveals his romantic feelings for Emmy, but she feels unworthy of love and asks that they remain only friends.

Emmy's half-brother Colin defends her against Agnes Thorne's accusations, and Emmy responds by giving the inheritance check back and walking out.

Julia's journal reveals that neighbor Thea found Julia crying in the flat during the bombing and sheltered her until taking her to Neville's parents in Oxford.

Kendra and Isabel conclude their interview, and Kendra joins Isabel's extended family for Isabel's birthday celebration.

The novel opens with Oxford student Kendra Van Zant arriving to interview elderly Blitz survivor Isabel MacFarland, who immediately signals that her story is more complicated than it appears. Emmy's simmering conflicts with her mother Annie over sex work and family responsibility establish the fractured household before the war forces their separation. Charlotte quickly becomes a nurturing figure at Thistle House, giving Emmy practical tools to pursue her dreams even as Emmy secretly makes plans to return to London. After the Blitz scatters the family, Emmy survives only through Mac's last-minute rescue and spends weeks recovering from pneumonia at Thistle House before rebuilding her life as Isabel. Julia's survival is fully explained through her journal entries decades later, revealing how neighbor Thea pulled her from the bombing and her grandparents eventually brought her to America. The novel closes with Kendra joining Isabel's extended family for the birthday party, bringing the interview frame full circle.

The supporting moments that shaped Emmy's and Julia's separate paths.

Emmy and Annie exchange a final silent glance at the departing school bus, both recognizing how much alike they truly are.

Emmy settles into Thistle House and secretly writes to Mrs. Crofton with her new address, still determined to return to London soon.

Emmy and Julia form a deep bond with Charlotte at Thistle House, who becomes a trusted confidant and maternal figure for both girls.

Emmy leaves Julia asleep at the London flat with instructions to wait for Annie and then goes alone to her appointment in Knightsbridge.

Emmy and Annie search police stations, hospitals, and offices across London together for Julia but find no trace of her.

A morgue official tells Emmy that Annie died when a bomb collapsed the basement of the Sharington Crescent Hotel, killing everyone inside.

Emmy searches through Mrs. Crofton's private papers at Primrose Bridal and finds the birth and death certificates of Isabel Crofton.

Emmy checks a casualty inquiry point and discovers that Mrs. Crofton was killed when a bomb struck her flat.

Emmy confides to Mac at the Savoy that she is secretly searching for a missing girl named Julia Downtree, whom she calls her half-sister.

Charlotte agrees to call Emmy by the name Isabel on the conditions that Emmy attend school and never leave again without telling Charlotte first.

Lawyer Mr. Bowker reveals that Henry Thorne was Annie's former employer who impregnated her and secretly paid for Annie's flat and Emmy's upbringing.

Julia's journal reveals she stopped speaking almost entirely for five years after the Blitz and suffered deep guilt for hiding Emmy's bride sketches.

Julia argues fiercely with her grandmother about returning to England and begins speaking fluently again as a direct result of that confrontation.

Gwen finds the brides box hidden on the door framing of Rose's old room and tells Julia, who takes it back to London.

Kendra learns that Colin quietly gave Emmy the full inheritance after she returned the check, funding the restoration of Thistle House when the family moved in.

The novel's pivotal turns begin with Emmy and Annie's charged final glance at the school bus, a moment of silent mutual recognition that carries the weight of their unresolved relationship. Emmy's decision to leave Julia at the flat and attend her appointment alone sets the tragedy in motion, and her discovery that Mrs. Crofton's private papers contain Isabel Crofton's certificates gives her the tool she needs to reinvent herself and survive. Charlotte's steady guidance at Thistle House helps Emmy rebuild, while the revelation of Henry Thorne's secret life with Annie reshapes Emmy's understanding of her entire childhood. Julia's parallel journey, traced through her journal, moves from five years of silence and guilt to a fierce, months-long search for Thistle House and the brides box she hid. The discovery of the brides box by Gwen in Rose's old room is the final turning point, allowing Julia to have one of Emmy's designs made into a wedding dress and feel her sister's forgiveness at the fitting. Kendra's late discovery that Colin secretly restored the full inheritance to Emmy reveals how Thistle House became the permanent home where both sisters' families found peace.

The discoveries and decisions that defined both sisters' long roads to forgiveness.