The Last Anniversary

Rose and Sophie go swimming in the freezing cold ocean. Rose tells Sophie that she will tell her more about the Munro Baby Mystery when Sophie turns 40. In a flashback, Rose reveals that the blood on the floor is Connie’s blood.

Sophie meets Rick for their first date and has a wonderful time. After the date, she feels equally as attracted to Rick as she does to Ian, which she finds confusing.

Laura sends Grace a letter from Italy. Grace tells Callum about her strange childhood: When she was 10, her mother gave her the silent treatment for 21 days after she accidentally left a banana in her school bag. Callum is horrified by this story. Grace goes on to remember privately that when she was 13, her mother again punished her with silence (this time for spilling nail polish), so Grace purchased a sesame bar, one of the foods to which she has a life-threatening allergy. Grace pretended that she was going to eat it to punish her mom, but then threw the bar away.

Two unspecified speakers have a short conversation about keeping secrets from their spouses.

Ron admires his calendar with pictures of models in underwear. When he hung it up, Veronika was horrified. It bothers him that his feminist daughter thinks so badly of him, but he has no desire to change his ways. Veronika tells him that he should pay attention to Margie and that he would deserve it if Margie were having an affair. Ron has not noticed Margie’s weight loss.

Ron remembers the summer of 1967 when he met Margie. She gained weight in the ’80s, and he acknowledges that he started treating her worse as a result of this. Ron wonders where Margie is. It’s after 10 on a Tuesday night and she isn’t at home.

Rose, Margie, and Enigma bake cakes for the anniversary celebration. Enigma is annoyed that Margie will not attend the anniversary and that she is keeping her activities with her friend Ron a secret. Rose pitches the idea that this anniversary celebration should be the last one now that Connie is dead. Veronika is receiving messages from people who claim to know what happened to Jack and Alice Munro. One of these people says he will attend the party.

Two unspecified people have a short conversation about feeling satisfied; one of them indicates it is her first sexual experience with a woman.

Sophie goes to dinner with her friends, who eagerly debate the merits of Ian versus Rick. Her friends, all married mothers, are very excited about Sophie’s prospects. Sophie is genuinely torn and does not know if she prefers Ian or Rick; she has a hard time admitting to herself that she prefers Callum.

Sophie goes to dinner at Grace and Callum’s house. Grace asks Sophie and Callum to give Jake his bath. Sophie and Callum have a lovely time and enjoy being so close. Both are very conscious of being attracted to each other and are trying to resist the situation.

Sophie wakes up on the morning of the 73rd anniversary of Jack and Alice’s disappearance and wonders if Connie and Rose did orchestrate the disappearance. She considers how carefully they have maintained their business. At the anniversary celebration tonight, she will see Rick (who will be breathing fire as part of the entertainment) and Ian (who will be visiting). She will be dressed as the Fairy Floss Fairy.

Rose wakes up in considerable pain and wonders what life will be like after everyone learns the truth about Enigma. Enigma contemplates how Margie is her favorite daughter, which makes her feel even more hurt that Margie is choosing to skip the anniversary celebration. Enigma loves the attention that she receives as the Munro baby, and remembers how upset she was when, on her 40th birthday, Connie and Rose told her the truth about her identity.

Margie awakes from a dream about Rotund Ron. That morning, her husband Ron tells her that she received a text. He sounds hurt and suspicious, and she knows he is wondering if she is having an affair. She tells him that it was Veronika texting her. Margie considers that she can tell Rotund Ron more than she can tell her husband Ron. She confides that when she was little, she would spend the morning of the anniversary worrying that her parents would disappear like Alice and Jack. She grew obsessed with missing people and wrote letters to the mothers of missing children. Ron continues to ask her questions about her feelings, and Margie is mystified by this change in her husband. Margie instigates sex with her husband, which they both find unusual.

Grace watches Callum sleep and considers how, since Jake has started sleeping through the night, Sophie will have an easier time. In Grace’s new book chapter, Gublet feels very excited about leaving to go to the moon. Sophie’s parents invite her out to dinner with them. They are jealous of how much time she is spending with the Scribbly Gum family.

Callum’s band sets up to play at the anniversary celebration. Sophie runs into a man carrying a vase. He says he is looking for Veronika and Sophie realizes he is the man who claims to have information about the disappearances of Jack and Alice. Grace and Rose paint children’s faces while Enigma signs autographs and takes photos. Grace feels content that her suicide plan is fully prepared and ready to execute.

Sophie enjoys being the Fairy Floss Fairy while watching Rick’s fire-breathing and Callum’s band. She realizes that she wants to kiss Callum and tell him that Grace is planning to leave him. Sophie runs into Veronika, who is holding hands with the girl from her kickboxing class, Audrey. Veronika introduces Audrey as her girlfriend. Veronika is happier than Sophie has ever seen her. Audrey tells Sophie that Veronika was previously in love with Sophie.

Rose meets the man who was looking for Veronika. He threatens Rose, telling her that he has information that will destroy the business and her credibility.

Ron remembers past anniversaries, which he used to really enjoy. He misses his male companions, Margie’s dad and Laura’s ex-husband. He realizes that the anniversary is a huge, successful event that Margie has run by herself. Corporate events that he attends are not nearly so well organized. He realizes that he has never appreciated his wife’s skills at running a business. He wonders why she has been so inspired to lose weight and transform herself and worries again that she is having an affair, because she now seems so happy.

Ron runs into Veronika and asks her if she sent her mother a text that morning. Veronika says no, and Ron panics, assuming that Margie’s affair partner was the one texting her. Veronika introduces him to Audrey, but he is too distracted to take proper notice of Audrey.

Sophie has drunk a lot of mulled wine and is feeling tipsy. She runs into Rick, who tells her that he rekindling his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Sophie drinks more as she ponders Rick. She runs into Thomas, Deborah, and baby Lily. Everyone is quite drunk and Thomas notes that there is too much brandy in the mulled wine. Deborah tells Sophie that Thomas is still in love with Sophie. Thomas is very embarrassed by Deborah’s outburst. Sophie runs into Ian, who tells her that he is planning a move to New Zealand to be a rafting instructor.

Ron calls Margie. Rotund Ron answers and tells Ron that Margie is getting dressed. Ron is enraged. Rotund Ron asks Ron if he wants to “come and watch.” Ron is increasingly angry.

Veronika introduces Enigma to Audrey. The anonymous man introduces himself to Enigma. Grace reads a note from Margie, which specifies which foods she is allergic to. Margie told her not to eat satay sticks, parmesan biscuits, or samosas. Grace makes sure to put the note in her pocket so that Margie will feel less blame after her suicide. Grace pictures Sophie as the perfect wife to Callum and the perfect mother to Jake.

Ron runs out, intending to go out on his jet-ski to find Margie. As he heads to the water, he passes an (unnamed) figure that he recognizes and is surprised to see. Sophie thinks about how attracted she is to Callum, then runs into Callum. He asks her to dance. Rose thinks about how sad Grace looks. Grace’s expression reminds Rose of a neighbor who suffered from PTSD and killed himself.

The figure that Ron saw earlier is revealed as Laura, Grace’s mother; she has followed the unnamed man there. Grace holds a samosa. Sophie and Callum dance more closely together. The unnamed man tells the assembled family members that Alice Munro was his mother. Enigma wonders how Laura knows this man: It is revealed that Laura dated him and told him the secret of the Munro Baby Mystery, and he is now trying to blackmail the family by bluffing that he is a Munro.

Rose takes a deep breath and reveals to everyone that Jack and Alice never existed: She and Connie made them up. Enigma is her own daughter. Enigma is furious that Rose has told the secret.

Elsewhere, Callum kisses Sophie. Grace eats the samosa and starts to experience serious anaphylactic shock. Rose feels relieved that her secret is finally out. Enigma cries in disappointment. Someone starts yelling that a woman is having an allergic reaction. Laura grabs her bag and Callum breaks away from Sophie.