Lauren

Lauren is the novel's main character. The narrative's action, conflict, and tension are filtered entirely through her consciousness because the third-person narrator’s access is limited to Lauren’s point of view. Therefore, the way that Lauren sees and experiences the narrative's world is inextricable from the narrative's trajectory and primary thematic explorations.

Four years prior to the narrative present, Lauren ended her longest relationship with a man named Amos. Ever since, Lauren has been single. Although she is no longer hung up on Amos, she struggles to be happy being alone. At times, she finds herself pretending that single life suits her, as the majority of her friends are either coupled up or married. Her loneliness becomes particularly poignant when her close friend Elena gets engaged.

On the night Lauren returns home from Elena’s bachelorette party, she is shocked to find a strange man in her...