The story centers on Rose, her widowed aunt Madame Francesca Bernard, and her little niece Isabel, whose lives are affected by the appearance of Colonel Kent, an old acquaintance, and neighbor, and his adult son Allison. The Crosby twins, who are unusual and exuberant young people that put society at naught, and an eccentric doctor who specializes in the impossible are two more individuals that significantly influence their lives. The reader is unsure of the historical setting or even the decade the story is set in due to the sparse "wide-scope" descriptions, but this makes it easier to comprehend the story's main point since it is all about how the characters' hearts and lives fit together in the small spaces of their town, their garden, their friendships, and their daily lives.