The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Madievsky, Ruth. All-Night Pharmacy. Catapult, 2023.

Ruth Madievsky's novel All-Night Pharmacy is written from the first person point of view of the unnamed protagonist. Set predominantly in Los Angeles, California and in the present day, the novel is written in the past tense and follows a linear plot line. The following summary abides by the same formal principles.

The unnamed first person narrator was 18 years old when she graduated from high school. In order to celebrate her graduation, she agreed to go out with her older sister Debbie. Debbie helped the narrator do her makeup and get dressed before they headed out to a bar called Salvation.

The narrator initially felt uncomfortable at Salvation. She did not have the same experience or confidence as her sister. Debbie had not only been living on her own since she was 18, but was more spirited, assured, and adventurous than the narrator. Debbie often pressured the narrator to do things that made her feel uncomfortable. However, the narrator felt that when she was with Debbie, she understood herself best.

The narrator started dating a guy named Ronnie whom she had met at Salvation. Not long into their relationship, she decided to move in with him. She ignored her sister's warnings about doing so, desperate to establish herself outside the context of Debbie.

Although the narrator had told her sister that being and living with Ronnie was what she wanted, the longer they were together, the more unhappy and restless the narrator felt. Then one night, while the narrator and Debbie were out partying at Salvation, the narrator started to miscarry. She had not known she was pregnant. Debbie took her to the hospital, but abandoned her shortly thereafter.

The narrator stopped talking to Debbie for several weeks, furious at her for leaving her alone when she was vulnerable. However, she soon let Debbie back into her life after learning that Debbie needed a ride home from her unexpected and abbreviated stint in rehab. Not long later, the narrator became upset with her sister once again. Tired of Debbie's antics and abuse, the narrator stabbed her in the arm with a knife she had purchased from the local pawn shop. The next morning at the hospital, the narrator woke up to discover Debbie was missing.

Although the narrator asked around about Debbie, she made little effort to actually relocate her sister. She broke up with Ronnie and soon became involved with a drug peddler from Salvation named Franklin. After Franklin was caught, the narrator abandoned the relationship. Franklin's friend Jeff, however, took pity on the narrator and helped her find an apartment and a secretary job at the hospital.

The narrator started working in the emergency room. Meanwhile, she tried to hide from her emotions by taking more and more pills. Then one day, a woman named Sasha came into the emergency room and insisted she was there to help the narrator.

Sasha told the narrator she was psychic. The narrator knew Sasha's claims sounded outrageous, but also found herself drawn to Sasha. Over the course of the following weeks, the two began to see one another regularly. What began as friendship soon turned into romance. Sasha even inspired the narrator to get sober.

After some months of being together, the narrator and Sasha traveled to Moldova, the country from which Sasha's family had immigrated when Sasha was a child. Throughout their time there together, the narrator found herself reflecting on her own ancestral past and generational trauma. When Sasha invited her to stay in Moldova with her indefinitely, the narrator realized she had to end the affair and return home.

Shortly after returning to Los Angeles, the narrator decided to look for Debbie once more. She called a private investigator who located Debbie in Boston. The narrator traveled to Boston and met Debbie at her new storefront, a shop called Salvation Psychic. The sisters spent the afternoon making amends for everything that had happened between them. Although they forgave each other for the past, they realized that they needed to maintain their independence from one another.