The novel's twelve central characters lead vastly different lives. Amma is an acclaimed playwright whose work explores her Black lesbian identity; her friend Shirley is a teacher, jaded after decades of work in London's underfunded schools; Carole, one of Shirley's former students, is a successful investment banker; Carole's mother Bummi works as a cleaner and worries about her daughter's lack of rootedness. These unforgettable characters, from a nonbinary social-media influencer to a ninety-three-year-old woman living on a farm, intersect in shared aspects of their identities, from age to race to sexuality to class.