Stacy Dee Haverly, nicknamed Dagmar, is navigating an even greater grief than the sudden loss of her father. This time, it is the inevitable loss of her mother. Her grief affects her and her estranged grandmother Helena deeply, but Dagmar has four friends she grew up with who have been there for her far more than her distant grandmother.We follow Dagmar in her grief before returning to an earlier time, when Dagmar, Adrian, Iona, Sam, and Rodney all went to school together and grew up as friends. From elementary to high school and into their freshman year at college, all of them learn how to navigate dealing with various forms of grief, bearing secrets, and learning to handle the cards they are delt in life.