The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Kushner, Rachel. Creation Lake. Scribner, 2024.

Rachel Kushner's novel Creation Lake is set in the Guyenne region of southwest France. The novel is written from the first-person point of view of the protagonist Sadie Smith and employs the past and present tenses. The novel defies notions of the conventional linear plot line to enact Sadie's experiences and the narrative themes. For the sake of clarity, this guide relies upon the present tense and a more streamlined mode of explanation.

Sadie Smith is a 34-year-old secret agent. After she loses her job with the FBI for botching a case, she moves to Europe and begins working for private organizations. She takes a job infiltrating Le Moulin, a commune in France's Guyenne Valley. The commune is run by a known anarchist, Pascal Balmy, and Sadie's contacts are convinced his fanatical ideas will lead the Moulinards to stage political protests that disrupt various governmental projects and initiatives in the region. Sadie must therefore seduce Pascal's best friend Lucien Dubois in order to get close to Pascal and integrate herself into Le Moulin.

Sadie meets Lucien in Paris. Lucien is immediately taken with her. They move in together just three months after becoming involved. A few weeks later, Sadie and Lucien relocate to Marseille, where Lucien is shooting a new film. Consumed with his work, Lucien invites Sadie to stay at his family's estate in the Guyenne Valley, not far outside Vantôme. Sadie takes the long drive to the estate and moves into the empty, sprawling house.

Shortly thereafter, she and Pascal meet in town. Pascal is thrilled that she is an alleged translator and invites her to the commune. He shows her around the facility, explains the structure of the community, and enlists her help in translating the Moulinards' collaborative book into English. Over the course of the following weeks, Sadie becomes increasingly involved in the community.

In the meantime, Sadie reads Pascal and the Moulinards' mentor Bruno Lacombe's emails. Bruno regularly emails his mentees about various philosophical, anthropological, and historical concepts. Sadie's contacts want to know if Bruno's emails reveal any of the Moulinards' revolutionary plans. Sadie doesn't find anything illicit in the writings, but does become attached to Bruno's ideas. She is particularly fascinated that Bruno has chosen to leave society and live in a cave. She enjoys his writings about his childhood and about the stars.

Sadie starts forming relationships with the Moulinards. She and the wood shop operator René begin a secret sexual relationship. Meanwhile, Sadie wins the trust of one of the Moulinard women, Aurélie. One day, Aurélie informs Sadie that the Moulinards are going to stage a protest at the upcoming local fair. Sadie gives this information to her contacts. Two days later, they tell her that the hated deputy minister Paul Platon will attend the fair and that she should use him as a pawn to cause a violent disruption. The contacts want authorities to believe the Moulinards are responsible for Platon's death so that they can arrest Pascal and shut down Le Moulin. Sadie decides to enlist the help of Burdmoore, René's wood shop helper, in the assassination. Burdmoore agrees to kill Platon.

On the day of the fair, Sadie and Burdmoore meet up shortly after Platon arrives. Sadie gives Burdmoore a gun. He takes the weapon but informs her that he is not going to kill Platon after all. Then a boy from the commune starts riding circles around Platon on his motorcycle. Platon falls and is crushed under a pile of logs. Sadie flees the scene. Her contacts pay her for the assignment because Platon is dead. She uses the money to buy a car and drive to Spain. She quits her job as a secret agent and settles down in a seaside Spanish village. She spends her time outdoors and often thinks about Bruno's writings.