Three families represent divergent and completely opposite viewpoints and become entangled in a host of difficult and complicated situations that almost defy resolve. Their lives slowly and bizarrely intertwine as they become trapped in love, hate, and jealousy. They ultimately and temporarily come together but not before they are confronted with bad marriages, illicit relationships, unwanted pregnancies, divorce, and death.

Alfredo Gismondi, an Italian Catholic, is raised in the depths of poverty. He meets Rachel Gasserman, Jewish, while both were employed as teenagers at a Westchester County country club during their summer vacation. Against her parents’ wishes, Rachel enrolls in college at the University of North Carolina while Alfredo joins the US Navy. She stays in touch with Alfredo, who meets Rachel’s roommate, Sarah Langley, Southern Baptist, and the daughter of Rick Langley, a wealthy tobacco executive and his wife, Cynthia, a former prostitute, who is extremely prejudiced and dislikes everyone except those in her inner circle. They fall in love and marry.

Rachel is extremely jealous that Sarah captured the attention of Alfredo and married him. Alfredo graduates from Harvard Law School and goes on to lead a very successful and enterprising career. They have one son, Lucas. Rachel never gets over this. Sarah is admitted to law school and passes away two years after graduation from breast cancer.

Novel moves quickly with Rick divorcing his wife and moving to New York City and strangely marrying Rachel. Rachel seduces Alfredo and becomes impregnated by him. They sever relations. Rachel is threatened by Rick when he learns of her pregnancy. She divorces him and marries her OB/GYN doctor, Arun Devar, and accidentally becomes pregnant with his child. Dr. Devar, furious over her surprise pregnancy, wants nothing more to do with her and has affairs with other women. Their marriage tragically ends in divorce following the accidental death of their son. Rachel becomes involved with Alfredo once again and welcomes him back into her life as the father of their son following his near-fatal heart attack.