Summary

The novel is told in alternating sections that are told from the point of view of either Lady or Esther. The first seven sections are all told from Lady’s point of view. Lady was a woman in her forties that lived in the Hollywood Hills. After recently kicking her husband Karl out of the house, Lady decided that she needed to hire a live-in nanny to care for her toddler, Devin, so that she could get some work done. She received an email from a girl named Esther who goes by the name S. She grew up nearby, but went to college in Berkley where she majored in childhood education and minored in art. Lady told S that she had an older son, Seth, from a previous relationship. Seth was eighteen, nonverbal, and lived with her. Lady hired S on the spot because...