Cathleen Brady, who goes by the name of Kate, and Bridget "Baba" Brennan, have been friends since childhood, attending convent school together and intent upon maintaining their friendship now that they have graduated. Having led a sheltered existence at school, kept away from the modern world to a large extent, they are anxious to strike out on their own. They move to the city but find that as young adults they have less in common than they did when they were children. Kate is a dreamer, longing for a handsome prince riding a white horse to sweep her off her feet in a traditional, fairy tale romance; Baba, whose head was not nearly so much in the clouds as her friend, just wants to have fun, meet people and enjoy the single life. Although they manage to stay connected, their different desires for their lives ultimately force them each to stand on their own two feet and make decisions without the other to back them up.
Volume two of the novel sees Kate in a relationship with Eugene, an older man who does not share her religious beliefs, and whose friends do not take her seriously. Eugene does not help matters; he doesn't seem to take Kate seriously either, and he is still in touch with his estranged wife because he cannot let go of his feelings for her. Finally tired of the situation, Kate decides to tag along with Baba who is moving to London. Partly keen to see what London might hold, and partly secretly hoping that Eugene will miss her and come running after her, she is sorely disappointed when Eugene tells her that their break up is probably the best thing for both of them. Being with Baba is the best medicine for Kate's broken heart; she meets lots of different men, and enjoys different levels of intimacy and romance with each of them.
Several years later, both girls are still in London, but their lives are not nearly as carefree and fun as they had previously been. Religious differences still plague their relationships and both girls' lives do not turn out to have the sunny-side-up happy endings that their earlier exploits suggested.
