Loud New York is behind them. Alice leaves her job and follows her husband to a quiet suburb. And now she stands on the threshold of a large house that she will very soon come to hate—for the endless feeling of loneliness. But it wasn’t always like this. Once, Nellie lived here. She talked to the roses, smoked strong cigarettes, and read articles about saving a marriage, topping her own glass with cold lemonade. Years later, Alice will find her predecessor’s cookbooks, but the most valuable things won’t be recipes at all.