The book is about Jane, a woman who chooses to leave her emotionally abusive and distant husband behind in favor of driving across the country from San Diego, California to live with her brother in Massachusetts on an apple orchard.

Through a series of letters awaiting the mother-daughter duo at designated post offices, Joley guides Jane and Rebecca across the country until they are reunited, while Oliver begins to obsessively track them down.

Soon into her stay at the orchard, Jane and Sam begin an affair, and a relationship develops between Rebecca and Hadley.

Confronted with the consequences of leaving her husband and travelling across the country, Jane returns home to San Diego with Oliver and Rebecca.

However, Rebecca's chapters are told in reverse order of the events from her and Jane deciding to return home to California from Massachusetts.

Oliver Jones: Jane's husband, Rebecca's father, marine biologist studying the songs of male humpback whales.