This story is told through the lens of a grandmother who retells the origins of an ancient porcelain vase through the lives of Afonso and a pottery family from Funchal, Madeira. The entire story is related during the grandmother's daily walks with her school-aged granddaughter in a city park that they have nicknamed Story Park. With the city park as the novel's backdrop and her grandmother's storytelling as the soundtrack, the granddaughter reflects on life and its impenetrable mysteries: from the beauty of spring she sees in the park's trees, its wildlife, and the changing weather, to the objects and furniture she has gotten to know so well inside her grandmother's house, to her life as a school-aged student, and the passage of time. Through her grandmother's storytelling and their time spent together, the granddaughter comes of age and learns some of life's most important lessons.