The story is framed by an elderly "Duke" (James Garner) reading the story from a notebook to a fellow nursing home patient (Gena Rowlands). The final twist—that the elderly couple is Noah and Allie—remains one of the most devastating and beautiful reveals in film history.
The story follows (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams), two teenagers who fall into a fierce summer romance in 1940s South Carolina.