The curiously named Isamay is trying to write a coherent thesis about grandmothers in history - from Sarah Bernhardt and George San to the matriarchal Queen Victoria - while constantly ambushed by the secrets of her own family. An only child, she is named after her grandmothers, Isa and May, who have formed and influenced her in very different ways. Jealous of each other, they both want to be first in their granddaughter's affections. Isa has an edge, in that young Isamay looks like her. But from May, Isamay inherits her stubborn determination. Now Isamay, almost 30, begins to want a child of her own, but her live-in lover, Ian (always mysterious about his own family history) is sure that he does not want children. And Isamay soon has her heart set on the idea.