Young Clover's kindergarten teacher dies suddenly while reading to the class, leaving her silently fixated on what his last words might have been.

Six-year-old Clover learns her parents died in an accident abroad and is sent to live with her grandfather in New York City.

Clover attends a death café at the New York Public Library and first encounters a nervous young man named Sebastian.

Sebastian calls Clover and persuades her to serve as death doula for his terminally ill grandmother, Claudia.

Clover visits Claudia at her townhouse for the first time, introduced as an art enthusiast rather than a death doula.

Claudia tells Clover she already knows about her terminal diagnosis and that her family has been hiding the truth from her.

Clover and Sebastian go on a date at a bar, and an unexpected first kiss happens at the subway entrance.

Claudia shares a box of old photographs and becomes emotional over a picture of her former French lover, Hugo Beaufort.

Sylvie tracks down a current address for Hugo Beaufort and reveals he has settled in Lincolnville, Maine.

During the road trip to Maine, Sebastian accuses Clover of hiding behind her work with dying people to avoid living her own life.

Clover and Sebastian arrive in Maine and discover that Claudia's former lover, Hugo Beaufort, died just a few months earlier.

Hugo's grandson calls Clover to say he has found intimate letters between Claudia and his grandfather and brings them to New York.

Clover reads Hugo's grandfather's heartfelt unsent letters aloud to Claudia, who is moved to tears by his enduring love.

Claudia dies surrounded by her family as Sebastian plays Billie Holiday's 'I'll Be Seeing You' on his cello.

Clover and Hugo stand on the cliffs of Bonifacio in Corsica and scatter Claudia's ashes into the sea.

Clover's life as a death doula is defined by her childhood losses and her habit of guiding strangers through their final moments while keeping herself emotionally distant. When she reluctantly agrees to help Sebastian's dying grandmother Claudia, she discovers a woman of remarkable spirit who has spent decades carrying a secret love for a man named Hugo Beaufort. As Clover and Sebastian travel to Maine to find Hugo and give Claudia a final resolution, their road trip erupts into a confrontation that forces Clover to examine her own avoidance of life. The discovery that Hugo has already died leads them to his grandson, whose family holds a trove of undelivered letters revealing Hugo's enduring devotion. Clover reads those letters aloud to Claudia, offering the closure she has carried for a lifetime. After Claudia's death, Clover fulfills her last wish by scattering her ashes in Corsica, beginning an entirely new chapter of her own life.

The central story of Clover, Claudia, and a love that bridged continents and lifetimes.

Leo tells Clover that a new neighbor is moving into their building, causing her immediate unease about unwanted change.

Lonely and isolated, Clover compulsively rewatches romantic comedy films in her apartment as a way to feel some sense of connection.

Clover meets her new neighbor Sylvie for the first time while walking her dog George late at night.

Clover takes on an unpaid job as death doula for Abigail, a young alcoholic artist from Idaho, who dies peacefully at age twenty-six.

On Clover's ninth birthday, her grandfather gives her a leather-bound notebook, a silver fountain pen, and a pair of binoculars.

Sebastian brings his cello to Claudia's townhouse and plays for his grandmother in a tender, private moment.

Sylvie invites Clover to join her at a yoga class, and the two nearly dissolve into laughter during guided meditation.

Clover has dinner at Sylvie's apartment and reveals for the first time that she has never been in a romantic relationship.

Leo tells Clover that her grandfather raised her out of guilt over having neglected Clover's own mother earlier in life.

Sylvie takes Clover to a sensual dance class where Clover unexpectedly feels liberated and more connected to her own body.

Sebastian invites Clover and Claudia to his cello quartet concert, giving Claudia a joyful evening outside the townhouse.

At a Maine pub called the Curious Whaler, Hugo reveals his grandfather moved to America specifically because of his love for Claudia.

Clover attends Claudia's funeral at her client's request and spots Hugo, who has come to pay his grandfather's respects.

Clover and Hugo spend a sunny day in Washington Square Park and visit Clover's favorite bookstore, sharing personal stories about loss.

Leo suffers a heart attack during their regular mahjong game and dies peacefully, urging Clover to take chances and live beautifully.

Beyond the central plot, Clover's daily life is filled with small but significant moments that shape who she is and who she is becoming. Her grandfather's ninth-birthday gifts of binoculars and a notebook foreshadow her lifelong habit of observation, while her work with dying clients like Abigail reminds her of the cost of an unlived life. Two new people, Sylvie and Sebastian, push Clover toward yoga, dance classes, concerts, and candid dinners, slowly dismantling the walls she has built around herself. A conversation with Leo uncovers a hidden chapter of her grandfather's story, changing how she understands the man who raised her. The heartbeat of this pool is the gradual expansion of Clover's world through friendship, music, and the warmth of people who refuse to let her disappear. These events culminate with Leo's quiet, courageous death during their regular mahjong game, which delivers the most direct message Clover will ever receive: take chances and live beautifully.

The relationships and quiet moments that slowly drew Clover out of her isolation.

After the death café meeting, Sebastian chases Clover outside and asks her out for coffee, which she firmly declines.

During a Sunday café outing, Clover's grandfather explains the unpredictability of life using the metaphor of a burning matchstick.

Eight months after her grandfather's death, Clover is diagnosed with persistent complex bereavement disorder but rejects medication and a fixed timeline for healing.

In a high school memory, Clover's classmate Priya ends their friendship to fit in with peers who judge Clover's interest in death.

Clover opens up to Sylvie over coffee, sharing how losing her grandfather led her to become a death doula and considering friendship possible.

During college volunteering in Guatemala, Clover discovers her crush Tim in an intimate moment with another volunteer and is left heartbroken.

Claudia tells Clover about the ten deeply meaningful days she spent with Hugo Beaufort in France before choosing to marry another man.

Sebastian learns about Claudia's former lover Hugo Beaufort and agrees to drive Clover to Maine to find him before Claudia dies.

Clover sees Sylvie and her neighbor Bridget sharing a kiss outside a café and confronts Sylvie, accusing her of ruining a marriage.

While traveling in Cambodia, Clover checks her email during a bus stop and discovers her grandfather has died alone at his desk.

Stranded alone at a remote gas station diner after walking out on Sebastian, Clover decides she must continue the journey for Claudia.

Sebastian arrives at Claudia's townhouse, apologizes to Clover for his behavior during the road trip, and reveals he is dating his ex again.

After Claudia's death, Clover opens her REGRETS notebook and writes her own entry, acknowledging her fear of taking chances in life.

While decluttering her grandfather's belongings with Sylvie, Clover finds a coaster suggesting a long-hidden romantic connection between her grandfather and the bookseller Bessie.

At the airport, Hugo gives Clover a leather-bound notebook labeled ADVENTURES as a parting gift before she departs for Corsica.

This pool traces the turning points that slowly dismantle Clover's defenses and push her toward an authentic life. Early moments — from Sebastian's first rejected overture to Clover's grandfather's matchstick metaphor and her diagnosis with chronic grief — reveal the roots of her emotional guardedness, while flashbacks to Priya's rejection and Tim's betrayal expose the specific wounds that made intimacy feel unsafe. As Clover begins to open up to Sylvie and then to Claudia's story of lost love, the true cost of avoidance becomes increasingly clear. The road trip to Maine becomes a crucible, from Sebastian's brutal honesty in the car to Clover's solitary reckoning in a gas station diner, where she finally chooses to press forward. In the aftermath of Claudia's death, Clover takes the extraordinary step of writing her own entry in the REGRETS notebook, transforming from a recorder of others' regrets into someone determined to act on her own. The pool closes with Hugo handing Clover a notebook labeled ADVENTURES, a symbolic passing of the baton from grief to possibility.

The discoveries and decisions that cracked Clover open and forced her to change.