On the death of her lover, George McEwan, a half French/half Scottish woman, the story unfolds in flashback as she recounts a sweeping romance with Gavin McCall, a humble fisherman, a relationship that spans more than thirty years.
In the 1950s, George, then a vivacious young woman living in France, comes to Scotland to spend her long summer vacation with her younger sister, Frédérique. While there, she meets an attractive and simple man Gavin, whose sister, Mary, becomes one of her friends. Smitten with each other, George and Gavin begin a torrid affair, sharing moonlit swims and stolen moments that feel like a world apart from their ordinary lives. As the summer ends, Mary asks the two sisters to be bridesmaids, and back in Scotland for Mary’s wedding, George and Gavin drift away from the festivities to a secluded cave by the seashore, where their bond deepens beyond casual affection.
Months later, back in France, George is surprised by Gavin's visit. She shows him Paris while they continue their love affair. He asks her to marry him, but she refuses. George wants to study at the Sorbonne and pursue her intellectual goals, not live as the wife of a fisherman in a Scottish village. Realizing that the cultural and lifestyle differences between them are too great to overcome, she declines the marriage proposal. Their lives take separate directions, and George becomes an intellectual and feminist activist. She marries and has a son, navigating a path that keeps her rooted in ideas and social change.
Ten years later, George, now divorced, moves to Quebec to pursue an academic career, teaching and writing a book on women’s studies. Her second marriage to Sidney, an intellectual, proves to be dry and ends in divorce.
George's friend, Ellen, a fellow feminist writer, invites her to accompany her for a summer trip to England. On a street in London, she comes across Gavin once again. He still resents her refusal to marry him a decade ago. She would like to rekindle their romance. Gavin, hurt but still in love, initially refuses, but eventually agrees to join her for a romantic vacation in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. From that point onward, they begin to meet more frequently through the years, their relationship surviving across different countries and changing circumstances.
Scotland, Montreal, and the St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church in Florida serve as backdrops for their encounters, underscoring a romance that endures despite divergent paths. The story reaches a poignant moment at Gavin’s funeral, when Josie, Gavin's widow, gives George a letter Gavin left for her. It reads:
> Before you came into my life, I believed that each day resembled the other, and that they would continue this way until I died. Since you, and don't ask me to explain, I only know that I want you in my arms from time to time if you wanted too. The thought that you exist somewhere and that you think about me sometimes helps me to live...
