The narrator is a sixteen-year-old high school junior nicknamed Bobbie who acts as the de facto manager of a large household after her mother's death. She balances school, sports, and domestic responsibilities while nursing secret literary ambitions, retreating to a cupola study to write. The novel follows her preparations and anxieties as her successful older brother brings his new wife home, exposing family shortcomings, strained sibling relationships, social expectations, and household chaos. Themes include coming-of-age, duty versus personal aspiration, resourcefulness, and the messy comedy of domestic life.