Mother Superior's tranquil life as head of the Sisters of St. Jane's convent/rehabilitation center is turned upside down with the arrival of Grace Dalton, an elderly widow from Memphis. St. Jane's occupies a huge and historic post-bellum home on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi south of Vicksburg. Grace says she has chosen St. Jane's so she could reestablish relations with her sister Kate, now Sister Caitlin of the Order. But when summoned, Sister Caitlin turns and runs. Mother Superior promises to assist Grace. Sister Caitlin threatens to leave St. Jane's unless Grace does. Mother Superior is told by both sisters that the two have had no contact for 40 years, but that they "cannot" tell her why. She is reminded of a secret of her own she "cannot" reveal. Mother Superior feels obligated to repair their rift. She devises a strategy which involves getting both Grace and Sister Caitlin to tell her their life stories, which they do in alternating chapters. She learns that they were born in Radium Springs, Arkansas in the early twentieth century. Both worked, Kate as secretary and Grace as Campaign Treasurer, for The Senator, a powerful state legislator from Tennessee. In his own words, he has "strong principles but no scruples." Grace had a difficult relationship with her daughter, Charlotte and a sexless marriage to her husband, Edward. Kate, on the other hand, got along well with both. Mother Superior perceives Grace to be narcissistic and amoral. She finds Sister Caitlin selfless and caring. Mother Superior is alternately cajoled and bullied by Grace into telling her own life story and revealing her secret. Relieved of the burden of her guilt, Mother Superior revises her perception of Grace and repeats her promise of help. Grace deliberately creates a crisis by having her hairdresser show two paintings he has done of her, nude, standing in her tub and painted fifty years apart. Mother Superior orders Grace to leave St. Jane's, but is reminded by Grace of her commitment. Mother Superior summons Sister Caitlin to her office where she is confronted by Grace. Their decades old secrets are finally revealed.