The following edition of the text was used in the creation of this study guide: Alvarez, Julia. The Cemetery of Untold Stories. Algonquin Books, 2024. Kindle AZW file.

The novel begins from the perspective of Alma, a successful author, and her complex relationship with an unnamed friend, also a writer. Alma's friend struggles to complete a book about a character named Clio and is eventually committed to a psychiatric institution, where she dies. Alma mourns her friend's death, believing it to be linked to the unfinished novel.

After Alma's mother's death, she confronts her father about a mysterious woman named Tatica but gets no answers.

Alma decides to retire as a writer and move back to the Dominican Republic, where she plans to bury her unfinished manuscripts in a cemetery for stories. Alma hires an illiterate woman named Filomena to help, and together they burn most manuscripts but decide to bury two, including one about Bienvenida Inocencia, wife of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, and another about Alma's father, Manuel.

Filomena and her older sister Perla endured a challenging upbringing in the rural Dominican Republic, marked by their father's abusive behavior and their mother's absence. When Perla entered a relationship with a man named Tesoro, their lives took a dramatic turn. Tesoro persuaded Perla to move to the city with him, coercing Filomena to accompany them. However, upon arriving at Tesoro's family home, they discovered that Perla was expected to work as a maid, not marry Tesoro as she had thought. After the discovery of Perla's pregnancy, Tesoro's father compelled him to marry her, leading to their relocation to New York. Their marriage was marred by secrets and manipulation, including Tesoro's affair with Filomena. Despite Filomena's attempts to expose the truth, Perla remained in denial, eventually taking her son Pepito to live with her in New York, leaving Filomena devastated. Filomena sought to reconnect with their estranged mother, Tatica, but her efforts proved futile.

In the present day Filomena is abruptly called away from her work at the cemetery by a neighbor informing her of a phone call. It turns out to be Perla, her estranged sister of thirty years, seeking refuge upon her return to the Dominican Republic, yet refusing to disclose the reasons for her sudden arrival. Perla's anxiety is palpable as she attempts to board a plane, haunted by the fear of being detected for a crime. Perla, having discovered her husband's infidelity, committed a gruesome murder, burning evidence and reaching out to Filomena for help.

Despite Filomena's instruction to meet at the cemetery, Perla fails to show up, leaving Filomena in a state of anxious anticipation. In the cemetery, Filomena was able to hear the voices of the unfinished manuscripts about Bienvenida and Alma’s father Manuel. She hears Bienvenida recount her tumultuous past with the Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, referred to in the novel as el Jefe. Bienvenida's narrative unfolds, detailing her marriage to el Jefe, miscarriages, and exile in Paris. Perla’s son Pepito works to ger Perla deported, hoping for a lenient sentence in the Dominican Republic.

As Filomena continued to listen to stories in the cemetery, she heard how Bienvenida's despair lead to a suicide attempt, intersecting with the life of a surly doctor named Manuel. Alma builds a house on the cemetery and Filomena becomes her maid. At a celebratory party, sculptures marking Manuel and Bienvenida's graves converge, prompting an otherworldly connection between the two unfinished manuscripts.

In the cemetery, Manuel and Bienvenida reminisced about their past encounters. Manuel shared the story of his relationship with a woman named Lucia, whom he met while working in a hospital. Their relationship faced challenges but eventually led to marriage and a move back to the Dominican Republic. Manuel's involvement in political dissent forced them to flee the country. Manuel confessed to Bienvenida that he had an affair with a woman named Tatica and had her deported when she threatened to expose the truth.

Manuel's narrative intertwines with present-day events involving Alma and her sisters uncovering a mysterious payment made by their late father, Manuel. The payment leads them to a convent where they learn it supports a woman named Tatica. Tatica has dementia and is unable to tell the sisters how she knew their father. Alma taught Filomena literacy skills while Perla was moved to a prison in DR, and Filomena visited her there. Alma's sisters returned to America, leaving her feeling isolated in the cemetery. Concerned about Alma's declining health, Filomena shares meals and stories with her. Pepito, an academic in New York, learns about Filomena's connection to Alma but faces resistance in meeting her. Pepito eventually meets Alma, thanks her for teaching Filomena, and expresses concerns about Alma's well-being. After Alma's passing, Pepito becomes her literary executor and writes a novel about Bienvenida, completing the unfinished project buried in the cemetery.