The narrator, Devin Jones, looks back 40 years on the summer of 1973—which he describes as the last year of his childhood—midway between his sophomore and junior years at the University of New Hampshire. He was 21 and had just been dumped by his first love.

The elder Devin sets the stage by opening the story in the fall after his summer job is over. The fall is when his true coming-of-age begins, after the amusement park has shut down and his girlfriend, Wendy Keegan has left him for someone else. The narrator describes this as the most beautiful autumn of his life, yet he was never so unhappy after the loss of his first love.

From philosophical observations about love, loss, and looking back, the narrator dives into a more concrete description of walking up the beach, describing the clear air and the warmth of the air. The town is more or less buttoned up now that the amusement park is closed. The summer homes are shut up for the winter —all but one. Every day, Devin walks the three miles to work along the beach, and every day, he passes an old green Victorian house that makes him think of a castle.