With her doctor's encouragement, Susan writes her story to find acceptance and peace over the loss of her husband. She is working at her uncle's motel in a small Midwestern town, where she has a lot of time to write and where she imagines all sorts of things. She begins categorizing people as vanilla, strawberry, or lemon people.

Her story began when she met Harris, and they planned on getting married.

Susan's girlfriends and her sister, Anna, were trying to get things together early that morning for the wedding in the afternoon. The dress hadn't arrived yet, and Susan was getting nervous. The girlfriends, the sister, and Susan were going to take a trip into the city to pick the dress up along with some flowers. The dress wasn't ready, so Susan quickly looked around and found another dress, almost like the original one, and said that it would have to do. She took it and ran out, thinking her sister-in-law could do any quick, last-minute alterations.

Being followed, mimicked by a band, getting lost, losing her checkbook, and other mishaps had Susan wondering why she was going to marry Harris. She loved Bob, who accepted her crazy, bitchy, off-the-wall ways.

Susan's story became quite confused, as she was confused. She did end up with Bob but for only a short while, as he was in an accident after a short-lived marriage. Harris, on the other hand, seemed to be playing Susan for an idiot and had his friends in on the game.