Mia “Rabbit” Hayes is a woman in her forties who is dying of cancer. She spends her final days in a hospice, surrounded by her large, loving but often chaotic Irish family.
The story moves between the present, where Rabbit and her family are coping with her approaching death, and flashbacks from her past life. These memories reveal her personality: funny, stubborn, loving, and deeply connected to her teenage daughter, Juliet.
Although the subject is very sad, the novel balances grief with warmth and humor. It explores how each family member deals differently with loss and the emotional process of saying goodbye.