Adelaide Williams checks herself into the hospital after attempting suicide. Her friend Celeste comes to stay with her. Adelaide doesn’t really want to die but experienced momentary suicidal ideation and took a handful of pills. She recalls moving into a new apartment the day before. She felt okay and told herself that it was a fresh start. However, after checking Twitter and studying her new furniture, she broke down, still adjusting to her recent breakup. Back in the hospital, the psychologist asks Adelaide about her life and mental health history. She struggles to explain her attempt to die.

Adelaide lives with a college friend, Madison, in London. Shortly after leaving the United States and securing their Highgate flat, they met and befriended Celeste. One night, Madison and Adelaide are talking while Adelaide prepares for a date with someone she met online named Rory Hughes. Madison reminds Adelaide that she doesn’t have to sleep with Rory, as Adelaide has a habit of having flings. Adelaide doesn’t know it yet, but her life will soon be split into two halves: “Before Rory Hughes and After” (12).

When she arrives for the date, she’s shocked that she recognizes Rory. Roughly two years earlier, Adelaide was having drinks with her friends near the river when she saw an attractive young man nearby.