Tally Smucker’s quiet life of reading and quilting masks her sorrow over her mother’s declining health and the lack of a fulfilling future for herself. When her entire world is shaken by her free-spirited neighbor Danielle, who grew up Plain but joined the Army at eighteen, Tally’s instinct is to distance herself.

Yet she finds she can’t turn away when Danielle’s brother, Kenan, specifically asks for her help. She invites Danielle to visit Plain Patterns quilt shop with her, where owner Jane Berger begins telling a story set during World War I. The plight of a soldier and the girl he left behind resonates with both Tally and Danielle, but for different reasons.

When Tally’s mother suffers a stroke at the same time Danielle’s PTSD becomes unmanageable, it seems Tally’s efforts to aid them only make things worse. Can Jane’s story, along with the care of Kenan, help Tally accept the hope–for all of them–that waits just around the corner?