Summary

In Chapter 1, the novel’s protagonist, Phoebe Siegler, arrives in Los Angeles. It is January 14, 2017. She is in her twenties. She goes to the office of someone known as “the Feral Detective” (3) because she has an appointment with him. In Chapter 2, Phoebe states in narration that the detective is an important part of the story and that she is not the detective. In Chapter 3, Phoebe enters the office of the detective, who is named Charles Heist. She notices that he is quite hairy on the head and face. Phoebe explains that she is in search of an old friend, Arabella Swados, who dropped out of college before traveling to Los Angeles. She is now missing. Phoebe says that Arabella may have gone to the nearby Mount Baldy, as Arabella is a fan of the musician Leonard Cohen, and Cohen used to attend a Buddhist...