Jake

Jake Whyte is a woman on the run from her past. She begins the novel as a young girl who has a crush on her schoolmate, Denver, and tries to impress him by being cool and detached; when she learns that he likes somebody else, she gets stoned and accidentally sets her town on fire. The fire is blamed on Denver, but Jake eventually admits the truth and is run out of town.

Jake tries working random jobs--such as picking fruit and cleaning toilets--but eventually becomes a prostitute to make ends meet. In the process, she meets another prostitute named Karen who becomes her closest friend. She and Karen both seek to find ways to escape their lifestyle, and Jake eventually finds this in a man named Otto, who seems nicer than her other customers, and wants to take care of her.

Jake goes with Otto to his...