As students at the prestigious Anya Sedgwick School of
Decorative Arts in Paris, Alexandra Gordon, Kay Lenox,
Jessica PIerce, and Maria Franconi share the challenges
and excitement of developing their artistic talents to the
fullest under Sedgwick's caring and demanding guidance.
But once best friends, they part enemies, and after
graduation they go their separate ways, pursuing careers
and establishing lives in different corners of the world.
Alexandra, a set designer, becomes a leading figure in New
York's theater world. Kay, who marries and moves to
Scotland, designs a successful line of clothing. Jessica,
an interior designer, makes her home in California, while
Maria returns to her native Italy, where she continues to
work in her family's textile business.
For each of them, the arrival of an invitation to Paris to
celebrate Anya Sedgwick's eighty-fifth birthday stirs up
complicated feelings: Nostalgic memories are colored by
poignant regrets and the reluctance to revisit their own
pasts mixes with curiosity about the other women. It is
ultimately their desire to deal with unfinished business
that convinces all of them to attend the party. During
three eventful weeks in Paris, they visit their old
haunts, rekindle ties, and awaken in one another the sense
of wonder, adventure, and possibilities they had shared so
long ago.