When aspiring writer Guinevere Beck strides into the bookstore where Joe works, he is instantly smitten. But there's more to Joe than Beck realises and much more to Beck than her perfect facade. And the obsessive relationship quickly spirals into a whirlwind of deadly consequences.

In 2008, 13-year-old Jon Bronson disappears on his morning walk to school. After even his parents give him up for dead, only his best friend, Chloe, remains certain that he would come back. Four years later, Jon returns with no memory of anything after the day he disappeared. But something’s different about him. His presence seems to cause spontaneous nose-bleeds in those around him.

Joe came to Los Angeles to start over, to forget about what happened in New York. But in a darkened room in Soho House everything suddenly changed. She is like no one he's ever met before. She doesn't know about his past and never can. The problem is, hidden bodies don't always stay that way.

After years in New York and a spell in Los Angeles, Joe Goldberg is moving to enjoy the fresh air and simple pleasures of life in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe. And at his new job at the local library, he meets Mary Kay: A fellow librarian. A mother. A friend. A woman with a life of her own.

Joe Goldberg is ready for a change. Instead of selling books, he’s writing them. And he’s off to a good start. Invited to join a tight-knit writing fellowship at Harvard, Joe thinks he’s finally found a place where talent matters more than pedigree. Where anything is possible, even happy endings. At least until he meets his uber-privileged, already-published, already-distinguished peers.Thankfully, Wonder enters the picture. They have so much in common: no college degrees, no pretensions, just a love for literature. They could be those rare literary soulmates who never fall prey to their demons. If only Wonder could just commit herself to the writing life.