Summer Dawidowitz has spent the past year caring for her grandmother, Josie - a lifelong Communist, a dedicated teacher, and the founder of an organization that tutors schoolchildren. When Josie dies, everything that seemed solid in Summer's life comes into question. What sort of relationship will she have with the mother who abandoned her? Will she meet with the brother Josie exiled from the family? Does she really want to go back to the non-monogamous household she was part of before she moved in to take care of Josie?

Finally, does she still believe a small, committed group of citizens can change the world, and if so - how?