The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Emiko, Jean. Mika in Real Life. HarperCollins Publisher, New York, NY, 10007, 2022. Kindle AZW file.

Mika Suzuki has just been fired from another job when she gets a phone call from Penny, the daughter she gave up for adoption 16 years ago. Mika is thrilled and shocked in equal measure. She wants to get to know Penny, and she is happy that Penny wants to know her. As Mika begins to reveal details about herself, she discovers she is not proud of her life. Over the course of the first conversation, Mika begins to paint an elaborate series of lies about her life – she is in a relationship with a handsome man named Leif, she recently quit her job to open an art gallery, and she lives in a beautiful cottage. The truth is she was fired and had to borrow money from her parents to pay the rent. She has no plans for the future, and the cottage she shares with her best friend Hana is quickly becoming a dump.

When Penny announces plans to travel from her home in Dayton, Ohio, to visit Mika in Portland, Oregon, Mika knows her lies are going to come to light. Her friend Charlie – a successful woman whose life is on track – suggests they bring Mika's lies to life. Her friends pitch in to bring order and repairs to the house. Leif has become a successful businessman. Leif agrees to fill the role of successful businessman for an evening. He goes an extra step by letting her use space in a building he owns that is currently rented out to artists. When Penny arrives, she is accompanied by her adoptive father Thomas. Thomas is worried about Penny who is still grieving the death of her adoptive mother just a few years earlier. Initially, Mika believes Thomas is a wet blanket but acknowledges that he deeply loves Penny. Mika's lies hold up for the first few days of the visit.

Mika has a strained relationship with her parents, Hiromi and Shige, and has no plans to introduce them to Penny. Hiromi becomes upset that Mika does not answer her phone calls the week of Penny's visit and follows Mika to the gallery. Hiromi confronts Mika, making a huge scene and revealing all the lies Mika told Penny and Thomas. Penny and Thomas return to Dayton. Mika bares her heart in a voicemail, and Penny calls a few days later. They gradually begin to heal their relationship with phone calls and texts. Thomas remains skeptical of Mika.

When Penny returns to Portland for a summer program at the college, she and Mika become closer. Each time Thomas visits, he and Mika get to know each other better. They acknowledge a growing attraction for each other but agree not to tell Penny until they are sure where it will lead. Penny eliminates their choice when she arrives unannounced at Mika's house and finds both Mika and Thomas in their underwear. Penny rushes back to the dorm at college, drinks too much, and winds up in the emergency room. Penny is furious and says hateful things to Mika, prompting her to revert to her typical belief that she is to blame for not meeting the expectations of others.

What Mika has not told anyone other than her closest friends is that Penny was the result of a rape. A fellow art student, Peter, threw a party to celebrate an award won by Mika's mentor and art teacher. Peter drugged and raped Mika that night, prompting her to change her major to business and leave art behind altogether. Mika has never been able to get past the fear of that night and the grief of giving Penny up for adoption. As she confronts her past, she realizes this fear has always been connected to her feelings of failure for not living up to Hiromi's expectations.

Mika decides it is time to get her real life back on track. She lands a good job and becomes responsible with her money. She takes a trip to Paris, returns to art, and puts some of her pieces on display. She and Hiromi have an honest conversation, and Mika accepts that no mother-daughter relationship is perfect. Penny and Thomas return to Portland for another visit. Penny and Mika reunite and pick up their relationship. Thomas asks Mika out for coffee.