The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Cline, Emma. The Guest. Penguin Random House LLC., 2023.

Emma Cline's novel The Guest is written from the third person limited point of view and traces the protagonist Alex's final week on Long Island. Written in the past tense, the novel adheres to a primarily linear narrative structure.

Twenty-two-year-old Alex was desperate to leave her life in New York City behind. Having worked as an escort for the past two years, her circumstances began to devolve when a former client named Dom started hounding her for stealing his drugs and money. With no friends, little work, and no place to stay, Alex was unsure what to do. She therefore attached herself to an older, wealthy man named Simon at a bar one night. She played the part of the demure young lady, hoping to appeal to Simon's sensibilities.

Alex and Simon began to see one another regularly. They not only slept together, but Simon spoiled Alex. When he invited her to spend the remaining weeks of the summer with him on Long Island, Alex eagerly accepted. She left most of her belongings behind, only taking the expensive clothes and accessories Simon had bought her.

For the first two weeks of their stay on Long Island, everything went well. Simon was perpetually busy with work, but Alex was unbothered. She was content to spend her days by herself, drinking, visiting the beach, sleeping, doing her makeup, swimming in the pool, and attending parties with Simon in the evenings.

One day, while on her way back from the beach, Alex accidentally drove down a one-way street. While trying to back up, she hit a retaining wall, ruining the bumper of Simon's expensive car. Terrified he would get angry with her, she decided to say nothing.

That night, Alex and Simon attended a party at his friend Helen's house. Alex was normally good at navigating these events, playing her role with calm and ease. This particular party, however, was proving difficult to tolerate. Alex was particularly on edge because Dom was contacting her more and more often. She needed to tell Simon what was going on so he could help her.

Alex engaged Helen's second husband Victor in conversation. She believed that, like her, he was also playing a part. By the end of the night, the two ended up in the pool together, enraging Simon. The next morning, Simon broke up with Alex. He had his assistant Lori drive her to the train station. Alex was upset, but did not know how to remedy the situation.

While sitting at the station, Alex made a decision. She would not leave Long Island. She would remain in the area for the next six days. Then she would show up at Simon's Labor Day party at the end of the week, and he would want to see her. She would explain everything, and things would be back to normal again.

Over the course of the following days, Alex wandered from place to place, killing time until the party. First, she attached herself to a group of twenty-somethings. When they discovered no one in the group knew her, they forced her to leave the place where they were staying. Not long later, she reconnected with one of Simon's friend's house managers, Nicholas. She and Nicholas had some fun together. However, Nicholas kicked Alex out after she ruined one of his employer's paintings and tried to initiate sex with him. From there, Alex met a young girl named Margaret at the beach club. Margaret let Alex spend the afternoon at her house. Alex became desperate to leave, however, when she noticed how unhappy Margaret was. After leaving Margaret, Alex reconnected with a teenage boy named Jack whom she had met on the beach. She and Jack broke into his ex-girlfriend's family's pool house, where they stayed for the next few days.

On Labor Day morning, Alex and Jack drove to Jack's house. He had promised to break into his father's safe and give her the money she needed to pay Dom back. However, on the way, Jack revealed that the safe did not exist. Then he rammed into a guardrail, trying to avoid a deer. Alex peeled herself from the car and ambled away, convinced Jack would be fine.

She arrived at Simon's party, relieved to be back. She moved through the space like an apparition, unsure who the people were and why they were regarding her they way they were. Finally she saw Simon. He looked as if he did not recognize her. She told herself to move towards him, but her body would not budge.