The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Elston, Ashley. First Lie Wins. Viking, 2024.

Ashley Elston's novel First Lie Wins is primarily set in Lake Forbing, Louisiana, and follows the life and experiences of the main character Evie Porter. The novel is written from Evie's first person point of view, and alternates between scenes from the past and the present in order to enact Evie's complex understanding of herself. For the sake of clarity, the following summary employs the present tense and a primarily a linear mode of explanation.

Evie Porter has been working for Mr. Smith for eight years when he assigns her to Ryan Summer's case. Smith suspects Ryan of using his trucking business to sell stolen goods, and tasks Evie with infiltrating his life and investigating his illicit business activities. Evie lures Ryan to her by pretending to have a flat tire on the road one day. They soon start dating and eventually move in together. All of Ryan's friends are suspicious of Evie, because she has seemingly come out of nowhere and taken over Ryan's life. Evie wishes that she did not have to lie to them, but is determined to complete her job for Smith successfully.

Evie started working for Smith shortly after her mom died of breast cancer. She did not like the idea of giving up her given name and identity as Lucca Marino. However, working with Smith promised to give her the financial security she needed to exact her dreams of buying her own property and home someday. Ever since, she has assumed various aliases in order to complete covert operations for Smith. Through the job, Evie met a man named Devon with whom she became friends. On one job, she and Devon worked together to procure a stolen painting from an oil tycoon's house. Their teamwork made Evie and Devon realize the possibilities of breaking away from Smith and creating their own community and working relationship. They decided to start investigating Smith to see if they could bring him down together.

In the narrative present, Evie tries not to get too attached to her new life with Ryan. Ryan is kind and gentle with her, and Evie often catches herself daydreaming about the life they could make together. However, in the meantime, she continues to snoop around Ryan's offices and warehouses in order to report back to Smith.

Then one day, Evie and Ryan attend a Derby party. Ryan's old friend James Bernard surfaces at the party with his new girlfriend Lucca Marino. Evie is shocked and confused. The woman is impersonating her and looks remarkably like her. She immediately suspects that Smith is involved and is playing her. With time and careful investigation, she discovers that Smith is using Lucca to scare her and to threaten the one thing she values: her name. When she and Ryan have James and Lucca over for dinner one night, Evie confronts Lucca when she finds her snooping through her things, while James badgers Ryan for a loan. Neither James nor Lucca get what they want before leaving Ryan's house that night. In the morning, Ryan and Evie are shocked to learn that James and Lucca died in a car crash on their way home. Evie realizes Smith must have killed them off as a threat to her.

Not long later, the police show up and apprehend Evie for her alleged involvement in a woman named Amy Holder's death. She, Ryan, and Ryan's lawyer friend Rachel Murray report to Atlanta to speak with the detectives. Evie tells them that the woman in their footage is not her, but Lucca Marino. She gives up her old name and frees herself.

Shortly thereafter, Evie and Devon realize who Smith really is and turn him over to the head of a Northeastern mob family named Victor Connolly. Connolly has wanted Smith for years, as Smith has been disloyal to him. Afterwards, Evie reunites with Ryan in Lake Forbing. They reveal all of their secrets to one another and begin to build a new life together.