Stories in The Unforgotten, ranging from a novella to flash narratives of merely a paragraph, are populated by a variety of characters. Among them are Luisa, a beloved childhood servant in Peru, who disappears inexplicably. A child writes that her mom has a lover, a grownup word for boyfriend. Gertrude's lifelong collection of sophisticated words eventually fades into dementia. Charles, a grandfather in a white nightgown and bobbing nightcap chases a bull away from his wife's beloved rose garden. A mother tells her child a story of a joyous snail with a will to live. Adrianna, now a grandmother, reminiscences about a college year in Paris with her best friend who later committed suicide. Henry, who works in a research lab, befriends a rat he names Eloise.