Summary

The novel begins with the main character living alongside Toni, a friend of theirs, in Paris, now that their girlfriend, Baby, has gone away for a couple weeks. They seem to be carrying on an affair with Toni, and it is not clear if Baby knows about this. One day, the main character, who goes by Ponyboy, comes back from buying alcohol to find Toni entertaining an old friend from Brown, where they went to school. Interspersed with this plot are memories of Toni and Ponyboy talking about their adolescence, and how they both thought they were cisgender. Ponyboy recounts a time when they were fourteen or fifteen, still identifying as a girl, and they were raped by a man at a party. In the present, Ponyboy battles alcoholism.

The action jumps to a week prior to Toni’s visit...