After a suicide attempt, Lane, Mia Farrow, has moved to a quiet country house in Vermont to recuperate. Her best friend Stephanie, Dianne Wiest, joins her for the summer to get away from her husband and the everyday grind. Lane's brassy mother Diane, Elaine Stritch, arrives with her physicist husband Lloyd, Jack Warden, Lane's stepfather. Lane is also close to two neighbors: Peter, Sam Waterston, a struggling writer, and Howard, Denholm Elliott, a French teacher. The story sketches a tangled web of affection: Howard is in love with Lane, Lane is in love with Peter, and Peter is in love with Stephanie.
Beneath the surface, Diane pushes for Peter to write her biography, largely because years earlier Lane supposedly shot her mother's abusive lover. Lane does not want that painful episode dragged into the spotlight again, but Peter sees big potential in turning it into a gripping story. The family dynamics simmer as old wounds and present desires collide under the same roof.
One evening, Diane hosts a party that upends Lane’s plans with Peter. Peter arrives early and confesses to Stephanie that he has long wanted to be alone with her. Outside, an electrical storm rages; candles glow and piano music fills the room, setting a strangely intimate mood. Diane dusts off an Ouija board and speaks with the spirits of her former lovers. A very drunk Howard finally declares his feelings for Lane, who does not return them. Peter tells Lane that he does not share her feelings for him. Lane seems to take the rejection in stride, trying to maintain calm as tensions rise. When everyone else finally heads to bed, Peter tries to seduce Stephanie, but she is conflicted and later follows him to his house, leaving Lane to wrestle with a growing sense of isolation.
The next morning, a real estate agent shows a couple around the house; Lane is counting on the sale money to move back to New York. Lane grows more despondent, partly because Peter’s rejection lingers and partly because Stephanie’s guilt over the situation weighs on her. Just as Lane prepares to show the room to prospective buyers, Peter arrives and kisses Stephanie, shocking Lane. Stephanie insists that the kiss meant nothing, while Peter tells Lane that the two of them share deep feelings for each other. Diane comes downstairs, announcing that she and Lloyd are planning to move in permanently. Lane accuses her mother of manipulating events, while Diane brushes it off as one of her drunken whims. The tension erupts into a painful breakdown, with Lane accusing Diane of fakery and indifference.
The film’s pivotal moment arrives when Lane finally voices a painful truth that has been carefully kept quiet: “You’re the one who pulled the trigger! I just said what the lawyers told me to say.” That line reveals that Diane was the one who shot her mother’s abusive lover, and it’s implied that Lane was coached to take the fall to soften consequences. The revelation underscores how damaging the past is for Lane and how flimsy the family’s protective mechanisms have proved to be. Diane, shaken, concedes that if she could go back, she would change her behavior.
With the confrontation out in the open, everyone exits except Stephanie and Lane. The pair are left to reckon with what has happened and what it means for their futures. Stephanie urges Lane to move forward and “keep busy,” offering a quiet, steady counterpoint to the emotional storm that has defined their summer. The story ends on a note of cautious possibility, emphasizing resilience and the slow work of healing after a year filled with secrets, longing, and betrayal.
