The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Johnson, Diane. Lorna Mott Comes Home. Penguin Random House, New York, NY, 2021. Kindle AZW file.

Lorna Mott Dumas has been living in France for 20 years as the wife of Armand-Loup Dumas. When Lorna decides she can no longer tolerate Armand's constant affairs and longs for the familiarity of her home country – America – she takes an invitation to lecture at Bakersfield, California, and sets out for home. She plans to reignite her career as a recently published art historian and be more present for her three grown children and their families.

Lorna encounters problems during her first few days in New York, including a blow to her ego when she discovers that one book store has not even unpacked her book. She travels on to San Francisco where she is shocked at the economic and social state of the place she plans to call “home.” At her first lecture, she is shocked when the discussion heads in a direction she had not expected. However, that is relatively good news because Lorna's hope to lecture to support herself begins to look like a pipe dream.

Lorna's three children are each facing crises. Her daughter Peggy is destitute and has taken out a loan against her house. Her son Curt was in an accident that left him in a coma for months. Once recovered physically, Curt walks out on his home, wife, and twin sons. He announces he is going to live in Thailand. He leaves his wife Donna with a three-million-dollar mortgage and a floundering business. Lorna's son Hams has a pregnant wife and no money to put down on a home. Lorna does not have the finances to help with these problems, but her ex-husband Ran is married to a millionaire, Amy. Ran tends to refuse to help his older three children, citing the fact that this is Amy's money. When Amy pays off Curt and Donna's house, the other children hope that similar windfalls will be coming their way, though there is no reason to actually expect it.

Back in France, a huge section of the Pont-les-Puits cemetery slides down a hillside. The destroyed graves include that of notable American painter Russell Woods who had been Lorna's friend. As Pont-les-Puits officials begin to realize the financial cost of reconstruction and reburial, Mayor Levier decides to sell one of Russell's paintings to pay for the reconstruction. Lorna agrees to handle the sale. The commission will generate much-needed revenue. While she is back in France to evaluate Russell's paintings, she renews her connection with Armand.

Meanwhile, Ran and Amy's 15-year-old daughter Gilda is pregnant. The pregnancy has been complicated by Gilda's diabetes, but she insists on going through with it. Ran and Amy rent a house in Pont-les-Puits for the holiday, planning to join Gilda and other members of the family. Before Ran and Amy can arrive, Gilda experiences problems, and Ran calls on Lorna for help. Lorna and Armand wind up driving Gilda through the French countryside to a hospital, but a midwife has to deliver the baby in the backseat of a car. Gilda and the baby are fine. Armand and Lorna reconnect over the shared experience. Then, each prepares to move on to the next stage of their lives.