during the funeral of mrs connulty at rathmoye a stranger, florian kilderry, asks ellie for direction to the burned down cinema, and their brief conversation is noticed by miss connulty, mrs connulty's spinster daughter, who determines that the two have struck out a love relationship based on this tenuous encounter. florian, a photographer, and ellie begin to notice each other and soon a love affair spanning the languid summer takes place, as the couple remember their lives lived up to that point.