The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Hawkins, Rachel. The Villa. St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2023.

Rachel Hawkins' mystery novel The Villa, takes an unconventional approach to structure, form, and style. Portions of the novel are written from the first person point of view of the protagonist Emily. Other portions are written from the third person point of view, and present scenes from the character Mari Godwick's life. The author also intersperses ancillary documents between these alternating sections. Such documents include newspaper and journal articles, podcast transcripts, novel excerpts, and song lyrics. By writing the novel in this manner, the author is able to enact her themes regarding story and writing, art and identity. For the sake of clarity, however, the following summary abides by a more linear and streamlined mode of explanation.

Emily is struggling to find her footing in the wake of her husband Matt's decision to file for divorce. Although Matt cheated on Emily, he still blames her for the failure of their marriage. He is even trying to sue Emily for the royalties on her books. Because of these dynamics, Emily has found it impossible to finish the next installment in her Petal Bloom mystery series.

Fearing the end of her writing career and personal stability, Emily is therefore delighted when her childhood best friend Chess invites her to spend the summer at an Italian villa. Emily wants to believe Chess, when she says the trip will give both of them the time, space, and energy to write. Chess is a famous and successful self-help writer, and Emily often feels envious of her accomplishments.

Not long after arriving at the Villa Aestas in Orvieto, Italy, Emily becomes eager to discover more about the murder that occurred there in 1974. During this summer, a writer named Mari Godwick stayed at the villa, then called Villa Rosato. She was there with her lover Pierce, stepsister Lara, the rockstar Noel, and his dealer Johnnie. When she arrived, Mari felt hopeful that the Italian countryside would inspire her to write something new.

By reading Mari Godwick's famous horror novel Lilith Rising, Emily starts to learn more about Mari. She also starts to notice parallels between the setting of Mari's novel and the Villa Aestas. Not long later, Emily finds Mari's personal writings hidden in the house. These pages and Emily's ancillary research answer more and more questions about the mysterious 1974 summer.

Over the course of her time at the villa, Mari started working on Lilith Rising. Although she was annoyed with her companions' antics, Mari felt encouraged by her work, and comforted by her protagonist Victoria. Despite her attempts to focus on the project and ignore her companions' conflicts and entanglements, Mari's patience eventually ran out. One night, after finding Pierce and Lara engaged in a volatile argument, Mari killed Pierce. She and Lara covered up the crime. Over the years following, both sisters would avoid conviction. They would also go on to produce successful novels and albums.

Emily turns her obsession with Mari's story into a new book proposal. Envious of Emily's idea, Chess does everything in her power to sabotage or steal the project. When none of these attempts work, Chess reveals that she slept with Matt. She tells Emily that the affair has in fact strengthened their friendship and led them to Mari and the villa. Emily accepts this version of reality and agrees to collaborate with Chess on the project, which they later publish as The Villa. Before doing so, however, the friends concoct a plan to murder Matt so that he cannot compromise their success.