[1][2] The story centers on the winter ski vacation of the Hartley family of New York City that ends in tragedy at a New England resort.
An alcohol-driven outburst by Mrs. Hartley reveals the futility of the couple's escapist efforts to sustain their marriage: "Why do we have to make these trips back to places we thought we were happy?
[6] Literary critic Lynne Waldeland comments on Hartley's tragic quest: Mr. and Mrs.Hartley are engaged in frantically revisiting places where they had been happy in the past to try to recapture those feelings…The futility of this search turns to tragedy; their daughter is killed in an accident on a ski tow, a hostage to their ill-fated attempt to reestablish a meaningful relationship by reliving the past.
"[8] Writer and critic Tim Lieder praises the understated narrative and the way that the ending fulfils the sad family dynamic.
He notes that many lesser writers have written stories with shock endings that feel cheap but Cheever carries it off with style.