Finlay “Finn” Donovan, the protagonist of the book, is a romance suspense novelist who gets mistaken for a contract killer in a twisted turn of events. When she is offered $50,000 to kill Harris Mickler by his wife, Patricia, there is a single factor that motivates Finn to consider the offer, above all else: her children.

Finn is not a typical heroine. She is a flawed character from the start, prone to impulsiveness and even acting on vengeance, as evidenced by why she was banned from Panera Bread. When the reader first meets Finn, her house is a mess, her children are running amok, her bills are overdue, and she is running behind on a work deadline as well. Finn does not give off a first impression of industriousness, reliability, or even integrity, demonstrated by her willingness to snoop around Steven and Theresa’s house, using and stealing things.

What makes Finn relatable, thereby endearing and redeeming her, is her status as a single mother. Her circumstances are not entirely dire—she has a roof over her and her children’s heads; she has some help with the children courtesy of Georgia, and later Vero; she has a financially stable co-parent she can fall back on, despite the ignominy she feels because of it.