Summary

The novel begins with a first person point of view, as narrator Lizzie Benson is spending the morning working at local a library in New York. Lizzie observes the people who come into the library, and reveals that she knows a lot about the library’s visitors as she observes each one of them.

Later, Lizzie waits to meet up with her brother Henry. She thinks about his recent drug addiction as he tells her about his latest support group meeting. Lizzie is known for acting as a shrink, so she listens to his problems. Her husband, Ben, always tells her he wishes she was a real shrink so they could be rich.

Afterwards, Lizzie takes her son to his preschool. Lizzie cannot help but feel worried every time she leaves him alone at such a large school.

On her way home, Lizzie sees...