Closing the Ring

Marie Harris delivers the eulogy for her father Chuck, a WWII veteran, in a church full of veterans. The mood is heavy, and Chuck’s death reveals a rift between Marie and her mother. Ethel sits on the church porch, smoking and nursing a hangover, signaling strained family ties.

At the funeral, Marie realizes there is much she doesn't know about her mother's past and Teddy's story. Ethel's past and her love life remain largely hidden, creating tension as Marie confronts the truth. The scene sets up the central family mystery for the film.

As a young woman, Ethel falls for Teddy Gordon, a farmer who builds a house with his friends Jack and Chuck. Within days of the Pearl Harbor attack, she accepts Teddy's gold ring and unofficially marries him, with Jack and Chuck as witnesses. The three men depart for war the next day.

Teddy, Jack, and Chuck fly out the next day after the wedding, heading into the war. Teddy and Jack are later stationed at RAF Langford Lodge near Belfast, weaving their fates with the city and the conflict ahead. The war will pull them into separate lives while testing their friendships.

In Belfast, Jack contemplates proposing to Eleanor, while the truth about love and loyalty remains tangled. Eleanor becomes part of the ongoing story as Jack's decisions unfold. The war's shadow stretches over personal lives.

In 1991, Jimmy Riley encounters Michael Quinlan while searching Black Mountain for wreckage of a crashed B-17. Jimmy finds a ring at the site and resolves to return it to the woman named in the inscription, Ethel & Teddy. The discovery links past and present through a single symbol.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs identifies the Ethel who Teddy left his belongings for, starting the ring's journey to its rightful owner. The bureaucratic recognition adds weight to the family mystery and Teddy's memory. The moment begins to reconnect the generations.

Jimmy brings the ring to Michigan, where Ethel reveals a wall of Teddy memorabilia. The return unsettles Marie and sheds new light on why Ethel guarded her memories for so long. The family begins to understand the depth of Ethel's devotion.

Marie learns there is much she didn't know about her mother's life, including how Teddy and the others shared a future before the war. Jack recounts his own failed marriages, and Ethel's determination to stay in the home Teddy built explains much of her distance. The revelations reshape how they view their elders and their past.

Jack's son Pete realizes that his father always loved Ethel, reframing the family narrative. The confession adds emotional weight to the decades-long relationship between Jack and Ethel. The revelation deepens the sense of unspoken devotion in the family.

Ethel travels to Belfast with Jimmy to confront Teddy's history. She witnesses turmoil during a car bombing and holds the hand of a dying British soldier. Quinlan explains that as a teen he was on Black Mountain when Teddy died, and Teddy promised to give Ethel the ring, which was lost in the final blast.

Joining Ethel in Belfast, Jack confesses that he has always loved her. She finally allows herself to grieve Teddy with him present, crying and sharing a long-awaited embrace. The moment marks healing and a new start for their relationship.