Berkeley graduate student Finn is spending the summer at the home of her grandmother, Hy, and great aunt, Glady Joe. Surrounded by orange groves in Grasse, California, her grandmother's house is a quiet haven where Finn intends to actually finish her latest thesis, this one on the rituals of women's handiwork in tribal cultures. More important, Finn needs the summer to think over a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Sam. Her eyes are about to be opened by the women who've seen it all. Hy and Glady Joe's house is also the longtime home of the Grasse Quilting Bee, made up of a group of remarkable women who are Finn's extended family. As they gather to make her wedding quilt, the women tell Finn the stories of the loves that shaped their lives. Tales of true love, betrayal, joy and heartbreak come to life in scenes which span from 1860 to the present, each story as individual as the women themselves.