Written in 2022 by Jennifer Weiner and grounded solidly in the context of the #MeToo Movement, That Summer follows how an instance of traumatic sexual assault affects the lives of those involved and their families over decades. The book is written from multiple perspectives—that of Diana, the survivor, Daisy, her attacker’s future wife, and Beatrice, Daisy’s daughter. Weiner uses these three different experiences of girlhood and womanhood to explore contemporary issues of accountability, blame, and justice.

Weiner, who is the New York Times bestselling author of several popular “beach reads,” typically writes about female friendship and contemporary women’s experiences. Many of her novels include a focus on body image while blending the genres of women’s fiction and mystery. That Summer uses plot twists to create a fast-paced narrative that complements Weiner’s otherwise contemplative tone.

This guide refers to the 2022 Piatkus edition.

Content Warning: The study guide and its source text address suicide, emotional abuse, sexist language, incidents of anti-gay bias, and sexual assault.

Plot Summary

In the prologue, 15-year-old Diana Scalzi spends the summer of 1987 working as an au pair in Cape Cod. She falls in love with a boy named Poe, who is really Henry “Hal” Shoemaker. Poe and his friends recently graduated from the prestigious Emlen Academy. At the end of the summer, Diana attends a bonfire party with Poe. Later, it is revealed that Diana is sexually assaulted at the party.

In Part 1, in 2019, Daisy Shoemaker, Hal’s wife, worries about her daughter, Beatrice, who is expelled from Emlen Academy for accusing a boy of raping her friend. Daisy, whose real name is Diana, also receives emails intended for another woman named Diana Starling. At her new school, Beatrice writes an essay about a woman who was murdered in the house next to her parents’ house in Cape Cod. Beatrice worries about her own safety and her future.

Because of the email mix-up, the two Dianas meet in New York, where they discuss their lives and jobs. Diana Starling (who is really Diana Scalzi, but conceals her identity) asks Daisy about Hal. Diana is surprised by how much she likes Daisy.

In Part 2, in 1987, Diana Scalzi returns home after her summer on the Cape, feeling hurt and confused. The next three years pass like a dream. Eventually, Dr. Levy, the woman she worked for in Cape Cod, offers her a cottage on the Cape for the winter. Diana accepts and meets Michael Carmody, the cottage’s caretaker, who pursues her romantically. Diana initially rejects him, but when her heating breaks, she is forced to turn to Michael for help, and they end up kissing.

Back in 2019, Daisy visits her brother Danny, who behaves strangely, and argues with Beatrice. Hal attends the funeral of a school friend named Brad who died by suicide. At school, Beatrice is befriended by a popular boy named Cade Langley, whom she likes despite his privileged attitude.

When Diana visits Philadelphia for work, she connects with Daisy, who gives her cooking lessons at an apartment that Diana pretends is hers, and they bond.

In Part 3, the narrative returns to the earlier timeline in Provincetown. Diana tells Michael that she cannot bear to spend summers on the Cape because she was raped there by a boy named Poe with the participation of two other boys. Over the winter, Michael and Diana get closer and eventually get married. Diana finally tells her family what happened and goes to therapy. The #MeToo Movement is mentioned by various characters. One day, Diana is helping Michael at a house he looks after when she recognizes Hal in a photograph. The photograph identifies him by name and Diana starts researching.

In 2019, Hal and Daisy host a party for parents from Beatrice’s school. Daisy catches Hal in a violent confrontation with a woman who works for her. Later, Beatrice and Cade argue about the boy whom Beatrice accused of rape. Daisy and Diana continue to spend time together and discuss the implications of the #MeToo Movement. Diana reveals that she was raped at 15, but Daisy receives a phone call about Beatrice skipping school before Diana can say more.

Part 4 opens in flashback to just before Beatrice was expelled. Diana’s investigation of her attackers brings her to Emlen Academy, where old yearbooks identify her attackers as Hal, Brad Burlingham, and Daniel “Danny” Rosen—Daisy’s brother. Diana watches Brad at his house for three days before confronting him. Brad defends himself by saying he wanted Hal to like him. He asks Diana if she intends to kill him, but she leaves. Six days later, she finds out that Brad died by suicide.

In the present, Hal, Beatrice, and Daisy fight about Beatrice skipping school. Hal disparages Daisy, and believes that men should be the breadwinners and women the homemakers. He calls Daisy “little bird,” which Beatrice tells her mother is the name a character in the play A Doll’s House gives his wife. Daisy reads the play and discovers that the “little bird” leaves her husband in the end. Daisy invites Diana to a family dinner party, where Diana watches how Hal treats his wife and daughter, and Hal’s father reminisces about Hal’s ill-spent youth. Everyone discusses whether young men who made mistakes when they were younger should be allowed to make amends or should be denied forgiveness. Diana asks Hal and Danny if they remember her, or the party in 1987. Hal tells her to leave, and Danny apologizes. After the party, Beatrice hears Hal and Daisy arguing.

Cade reveals to Beatrice that although he initially only spent time with her as a bet, he truly likes her. They kiss, but Beatrice feels conflicted about how he has treated her. Meanwhile, Daisy calls Diana and asks her to explain. The two women meet, and Diana reveals that Hal raped her in 1987 and that Danny was there, too. Diana leaves as Daisy runs to the bathroom to collect herself.

In Part 5, Daisy recalls how she and Hal met, and remembers that he asked to call her something besides “Diana.” Daisy calls her brother, who makes excuses and says he was infatuated with Hal. He insists that he tried to tell Daisy before she got married and that he told the whole story to their mother. Daisy drives to her mother’s house with Beatrice, where she demands to know the truth. Her mother tells her that Hal is a good man who made a mistake and reminds her that he is Beatrice’s father. Daisy drives to the Cape to see Diana.

The narrative then switches to Hal’s point of view and jumps back to 1987. The night of the bonfire party is retold from Hal’s point of view as he plies Diana with alcohol, planning to hand her over to Danny. When Danny refuses to have sex with the drunk and unconscious girl, Hal does so himself while Brad holds her down. The narrative jumps to 1990 and then to 1995, describing Hal’s memories of two different Emlen Academy reunions. At the first reunion, an older man tells Hal that he needs to drink less and find a wife to keep him grounded. At the second reunion, Danny asks Hal if he raped Diana. Hal denies it, then concedes that even if he had, there would be nothing he could do about it now, and it would be pointless to feel guilty. Back in the present, Hal returns from work to an empty house. Daisy calls and demands he tell her the truth. They agree to speak in person, meeting at Diana’s house in the morning.

Daisy arrives at Diana’s cottage and has a frank conversation with Diana about the assault. Daisy realizes that her relationship with Hal has always had an unequal power dynamic. Diana tells Daisy that she is glad they became friends. When Hal arrives, it starts to rain, and he and Daisy talk alone on a platform high above the beach. He claims he lied to protect her, but Daisy says he took her name from her. Hal reaches for Daisy, and she imagines letting him fall from the platform to his death. She decides that death would be too easy for him and instead imagines a happy life without him. She walks away.

In the epilogue, Beatrice and her mother live in Cape Cod and Hal visits on the weekends. Beatrice seems uninterested in a boy who approaches her on the beach and instead paddles off into the sunset alone.