The following version of this short story was used to create the guide: Backman, Fredrik. "The Deal of a Lifetime." Atria Books, Kindle Edition, 2021.

Fredrik Backman's short story "The Deal of a Lifetime" is written from the first person point of view of an unnamed narrator. The narrative employs both the past and present tenses, and defies typical notions of plot and form. The following summary uses a linear model.

The first person narrator was born a twin. Not long after their birth, his twin died. On the day of his brother's death, the narrator saw a woman in a grey sweater. Over the course of the narrator's childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, the narrator continued to see the woman. She was present when his best friend, father, and mother died. Therefore, the narrator has come to associate her with death.

Years later, the narrator married and had a son. When his son was born, the narrator suddenly discovered his capacity for empathy. This terrified him. He believed that loving his son would endanger his chances of success in the future. Not long later, he abandoned his family. Over the years following, the narrator made no effort to establish or sustain a relationship with his son. Occasionally the son would call him, but the narrator was always distanced and emotionally detached. When they saw each other, the narrator was either late or drunk.

When the narrator was 45, the doctors told him he had cancer. After the diagnosis, he took a walk on the beach and watched two dogs playing in the water. Suddenly he realized that he had never been happy, and was unsure he was capable of ever being so.

The following year, the narrator got into a car wreck while driving drunk. Then, the woman in the grey sweater appeared. The narrator believed she was there to collect him. He begged her to preserve his life. She looked sad, and said the only way she could do so was if she exchanged a life for a life. The narrator did not care what she had to do. He wanted to live.

The next day, he went to the hospital. In the television room, he met a little girl. The girl also had cancer. Something about her reminded the narrator of his son. Her innocence, sense of humor, and fear of the woman in the grey sweater all endeared her to the narrator. Over the course of the following days in the hospital together, they grew close. Then one day, the woman in the grey sweater returned. The narrator told her he knew she was death, and that she was there for him. The woman said that she was there for someone else. She then crossed the little girl's name off her list, and entered her room.

The following morning, the narrator writes a message to his son, explaining all that he has experienced and learned.