The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Leilani, Raven. Luster. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020. Kindle.

The novel is narrated by Edie in the present-tense. Edie is a 23-year-old woman who lives and works in New York. She meets Eric online and begins a relationship she believes is vulnerable and honest. They share secrets and truths about one another through the internet, and even have virtual sex. Eric tells Edie that he has been married for 13 years. He and his wife, Rebecca, have recently decided to open their marriage up. When Edie and Eric finally meet, a month later, both feel awkward about the collision of fantasy with reality. They spend the day at an amusement park, and then get drinks together. Edie is enamored with Eric because he asks her genuine questions about herself and her day. He drives her home and she invites him up, but he declines and asks to see her later that week. She goes upstairs and paints his portrait. It is the first time she has painted in two years.

In Chapter Two, Edie goes to work at the publishing house where she is an editorial coordinator for the children’s division. She wants to work in the art department, but they continually reject her when she applies. Edie has slept with dozens of men at her office. She previously developed feelings for Mark, but he stopped talking to her after her father died. After work, Edie meets Eric at a bar. He gives her a list of rules written by his wife, including that he cannot have sex on the first date, that he cannot bring women to his home, that he must always answer his wife’s calls, and that he can only see women on the weekends. Edie agrees to the rules and they kiss. Over the next few weeks, they go on several dates, but they do not have sex. Edie tries to seduce him in a public restroom, and he rejects her. She pushes him, and he pushes her back. He immediately apologizes, but she tells him she likes it. After 52 days, they finally have sex. Eric tells her he loves her. After, he ignores her calls and messages for a week. She sneaks into his house when she thinks no one is home, but runs into Rebecca.

In Chapter Three, Edie remembers her youth in Latham. When she was 13, her mother died. At 15, she had an abortion. In the present moment, she runs away from Rebecca. Rebecca chases her, then falls down in the grass. Edie turns around to help her up. Rebecca invites Edie to stay for dinner. Edie agrees, but is surprised to learn that Rebecca and Eric are having their 14th wedding anniversary party. She is also surprised to see that Eric and Rebecca have an adopted Black daughter. When Eric sees Edie, he is furious. He drives her home and says he feels like hitting her. She tells him to do it, and he does, then they have sex in his car. Rebecca calls Edie and tells her they should get together again.

In Chapter Four, Edie remembers her mother, who started using and selling drugs at a young age. Edie’s father met her mother and put her through rehab, then moved with her upstate to start a church. In the narrative present, Edie looks at the bruises on her face and paints them in a self-portrait. She goes to work and is fired because of several anonymous complaints about her being sexually inappropriate with colleagues. Edie starts applying for jobs and begins working as a delivery biker. Eric ignores her for weeks. Edie’s roommate moves out and her landlord kicks Edie out. Edie delivers to Rebecca by chance. Rebecca says she is struggling with her adopted daughter. Edie tells Rebecca she is homeless. Eric is out of town for a work conference, so Rebecca invites Edie to stay at her house. She tells Edie she wants her relationship with Eric to stop because he is horrible with time management. Eric calls from his work conference and apologizes to Edie for hitting her.

In Chapter Five, Edie takes her things to storage and stays at the house in New Jersey. Rebecca seems alternatively cold and distant, but she knows Akila is suffering from being the only Black person in the town. Rebecca hopes Edie can be a role model for the girl, but Akila is resistant to getting close with Edie. Edie does yoga with Rebecca and they cook dinner together. Edie tells Rebecca she thinks Akila’s tutor is racist. At first Rebecca dismisses this accusation, but then she fires the tutor. Edie snoops through the house and finds a gun in a Monopoly box. She finds journals in Akila’s room and reads one full of Batman fanfiction. Edie gets her paints out of storage and starts painting Rebecca and Akila. Rebecca invites Edie to come with her to a punk show where they join the mosh pit. When they get home, Eric has just pulled up in a taxi.

In Chapter Six, Eris is furious that Rebecca has asked Edie to move in. Edie packs her things and prepares to leave, but Akila invites her into her room and they play video games all night. The next morning, Eric ignores Edie. She decides to stay in the house anyway. She grows closer to Akila, who opens up about her mother’s death. Edie attempts but fails to paint a self-portrait. She cleans the house. Someone leaves money in her room weekly, but she does not know which of them is doing so. Edie watches Eric and Rebecca have sex, then paints them. The next day, she puts on a nice dress and seduces Eric in the basement.

In Chapter Seven, Edie and Eric continue to have sex behind Rebecca’s back. Rebecca continually complains about the neighbor’s dog’s barking. Edie and Eric help Akila prepare for Comic Con. Edie realizes she is pregnant, but she does not know what to do. Rebecca sees her paintings and says they need work. Rebecca takes Edie to work with her at the morgue so she can paint the bodies. One night, Eric rents a hotel room for him and Edie. He drinks too much and passes out, forcing Edie to call an ambulance and Rebecca. Rebecca tells Edie she has a month to find a new place to live.

In Chapter Eight, Eric goes for a run. He comes home and tells everyone that the neighbor’s dog has been shot. Edie contemplates whether or not she should have an abortion. The police investigate the dog’s death. Edie and Eric’s family get ready for Comic Con. At the convention, Eric takes mushrooms and throws up. Edie admits she does not like him anymore. Later that week, Edie takes Akila out of school and brings her to the mall. They shoplift together for fun, then return home. The police arrive to investigate the dog’s murder. They throw Akila on the floor and restrain Edie before Rebecca arrives and tells the police they both live at the house. The police ask Rebecca if there is a firearm on the property. Rebecca lies and says no, but Edie has the feeling Rebecca shot the dog herself. That night Edie paints a successful self-portrait for the first time. The next day, Edie sketches Rebecca and the two women fall asleep in the guest room. Edie wakes up bleeding. Rebecca takes Edie to the hospital. The doctors tell her she has had a miscarriage. Rebecca and Edie become inseparable, spending every moment together. Edie gets a communications job and a new apartment in Crown Heights. Rebecca drives Edie to her new house and drops her off. Before she leaves, Edie paints a portrait of her.