Summary

The novel begins in 1993 in New York City. 17-year-old Lucy Adler is playing basketball in the park with her best friend Percy Abney. They are playing against two middle-aged men, and they win easily. Afterwards Lucy and Percy play one-on-one, and Lucy notes her physical attraction to Percy.

In the next chapter, Lucy, Percy, and Percy's friend James are chased by the police after Percy is caught writing graffiti. They get away and return to their respective schools, all-boys religious school Colver for Percy and James, and the elite nondenominational Pendleton for Lucy. At school, Lucy is not popular, but she has a close friend named Alexis on her basketball team. That night, Lucy, Percy, James, and Percy's girlfriend Sarah smoke cannabis on Lucy's roof. Lucy disdains Sarah because she is pretty and not intelligent. The group discusses Percy's family's exorbitant wealth, of...