Seventeen-year-old Cleo, feeling guilty that her choices played a role in her mother's murder, seeks refuge in prescription medication until her Aunt Kellie helps her to tell the truth and find some perspective.
Mario's romance with and marriage to his divorced Aunt Julia provides the main plot, while his friend, soap opera scriptwriter Pedro Camacho, provides the counterpoint of this comedic tale of Lima in the 50s.
In 1880, Noah's aunt teaches the reluctant nine-year-old how to read as they explore the Colorado prairie together, Noah pushing Aunt Dora in her wheelchair.
Talkative, ten-year-old Rebecca goes to live with her spinster aunts, one harsh and demanding, the other soft and sentimental, with whom she spends seven difficult but rewarding years growing up.
While spending summer vacation on Uncle Pat and Auntie Pat's financially-strapped farm, a child finds a way to generate more income after consulting the wishing well.
Tilly is thrilled when she gets to see her aunt perform in the ballet, "The Sleeping Beauty," especially because she gets to go backstage and even on the stage itself.