The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Clegg, Bill. The End of the Day. New York: Scout Press, 2020.

The End of the Day is told in a nonlinear fashion, with most of its action taking place in the 1960s and the 2010s. Dana and Jackie were both born and raised in the town of Wells, Connecticut. Dana was born into a very wealthy family and grew up in a large house known as Edgeweather. Jackie was born to a middle-class family and grew up nearby. Dana and Jackie became friends when they were children. Dana’s family employed a family of Mexican immigrants—the Lopez family—as housekeepers and groundskeepers at Edgeweather. One of the family’s daughters, Lupita, was approximately the same age as Dana and Jackie, but Dana and Jackie rarely spoke to her. Lupita attended a different school and was sometimes bullied because of her race.

Dana is bisexual, and she eventually began to develop romantic feelings towards Jackie. However, towards the end of high school, Jackie developed a crush on a classmate named Floyd. Floyd was the son of a local farmer. Floyd and Jackie began dating, but Floyd was not especially attracted to Jackie. One day, Jackie developed intense romantic feelings for Lupita, and Lupita reciprocated those feelings. Floyd and Lupita began to meet in secret, but soon Jackie realized that she was pregnant with Floyd’s child. Floyd agreed to marry Jackie, and he cut off all contact with Lupita. About a year later, Lupita was raped by Dana’s father. Lupita told no one, but she soon realized that she was pregnant.

Lupita contacted Dana and claimed that she was pregnant with Floyd’s child. Dana then helped Lupita give the child away to a distant family friend, a college professor named Alice. Lupita then fled to begin a new life in Hawaii. Around that same time, Jackie mistakenly suspected Floyd of having an affair with Dana. Jackie temporarily kicked Floyd out of the house, and she cut off all contact with Dana.

About 50 years later, Dana tracks down the child that Lupita gave away. He is now an adult named Hap. Dana still (incorrectly) believes that Hap is the child of Lupita and Floyd. Dana gives Hap Jackie’s address, in case Hap has any questions about Floyd and Lupita. Floyd has been deceased for years. Dana visits Jackie by herself to try to reconcile, and although this storyline ends ambiguously, it is possible that they do complete their reconciliation. Meanwhile, Hap decides not to visit Jackie, and instead to be content with the life that he has.