The first set of friends while leaving the house after dinner with the couple are divided in their opinion of the pair, with Peter admiring their semi-bohemian lifestyle, and Catherine sees Nedra as selfish.
While on the outside it seems like family have the perfect life, both Viri and Nedra conduct affairs, and imagine themselves travelling to Europe and expanding their circle of friends.
Nedra's father falls ill and dies, with his daughter travelling back to her home town, Altoona, Pennsylvania, to say goodbye shortly before his death, and to clear out his belongings and sell his house.
Nedra returns to the United States for Danny's wedding, taking a flat in the city and trying to enter the arts world, encountering a disciplined theatre troupe that she tries to join, and is rejected for being too old.
After her funeral, Viri travels back to where the house was and in the field adjoining, finds the tortoise lost so long previously, still alive.