Summary

Lisa Halliday’s novel begins with Alice, a 25-year-old woman who works as an editorial assistant at a New York City publishing house, reading a book on a park bench. An older man with an ice cream cone approached her and asked her what she was reading. She showed him the cover and told him her name when he asked. Later in the novel we learn that the man was Ezra Blazer, a very famous and highly regarded novelist.

The next week, Alice was sitting in the same spot and the man approached her again, gave her a piece of chocolate, and told her a joke. The week after that, he brought two ice cream cones and gave one to her. They made plans to take a walk together the next weekend.

The next weekend, it was raining, so Alice met the man...