Elsie is a Haitian American live-in nurse’s assistant tending a renal-failure patient named Gaspard. The story begins when Elsie’s ex-husband Blaise calls to tell her that his girlfriend Olivia—who had once been Elsie’s best friend—has been kidnapped at gunpoint in Haiti. He explains that the ransom is $50,000, but that he’s trying to negotiate. Elsie is horrified and asks Blaise to keep her updated. Meanwhile, Gaspard’s daughter, Mona, is critical of the time Elsie spends on her phone while at work. Elsie recalls the circumstances that brought them all together: she and Olivia met while working as nurses, and Olivia often accompanied Elsie to a club called Dédé’s to watch Blaise’s band play. The three soon became inseparable, and Elsie describes them like a trio of siblings. One night, after observing the son of one of her patients physically abuse him, Elsie, Olivia, and Blaise have sex; the next morning, Blaise leaves Elsie for Olivia. Elsie mentally replays every moment of her friendship with Olivia, wondering when the affair began.

As Blaise grows increasingly desperate, Elsie decides to wire him about $5,000—nearly all of her savings—to help contribute to Olivia’s ransom. The same day, Gaspard’s daughter fires Elsie, saying that she needs someone less distracted to care for her father.