Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition (Initial Situation)
Local Grandma Repeats Bedtime Story 5 Million Times
Hey, have you ever heard Grandma Gemma tell the one about Briar Rose? Yes? Well, too bad, because that's literally the only bedtime story Gemma seems to know. Becca and her sisters hear Gemma tell the Briar Rose story countless times when they're growing up. And by golly, you're going to hear it too.
Rising Action (Conflict, Complication)
The Secret Life of Gemma
The good news is that Gemma has finally stopped telling her weird fairy tale. Hooray! The bad news is that she's dead. Cue sad trombone noise. After Gemma's funeral, Becca starts to realize there was something funny about the Briar Rose story. A mysterious box of Gemma's mementos makes her wonder: was Briar Rose really a coded story about the Holocaust? Spoiler alert: Yes, yes it was.
Climax (Crisis, Turning Point)
Becca Racks Up Some Air Miles
Determined to learn what happened to Gemma during World War II, Becca sets off for Poland to do some investigative reporting. She teams up with Magda, a translator, to look for clues about what happened to Gemma in Chelmno.
Falling Action
In Which All Mysteries Are Revealed
Through a local priest, Becca and Magda find Josef, a labor camp survivor who might have info on Gemma. Turns out Josef did know Gemma. In fact, he rescued her! Josef gives Becca and Magda the full scoop on everything that went down before Gemma immigrated to the U.S. He also serves them lunch and dinner, plus snacks. 'Cause he's a gentleman.
Resolution (Denouement)
Becca Heads Home
Satisfied with Josef's story, Becca flies back home to tell her fam what she found. When she steps off the plane, she finds her crush, Stan, waiting for her. She takes that as a good sign that he likes her back, so they make out right there in the airport. They're classy like that.