A woman known only as “the Ex” reflects on her breakup with her boyfriend of many years, Dr. Joel Broden. When Joel asks her to dinner to discuss something important, she is confident that he plans to propose to her. Joel explains that, since losing a patient unexpectedly, he feels like he needs to make serious changes in his life, and he breaks up with her. He offers to let her stay in their shared Manhattan apartment until she finds something new. The Ex is filled with rage at Joel and at the woman she knows he will one day find to replace her. Looking back, she regrets that this rage led her to murder.

Cassie Donovan is the owner of Bookland, a small independent bookstore in Manhattan, which she inherited from her grandparents Bea and Marv at the age of 22. Although she hates to admit it, Cassie knows Bookland is in trouble: Sales are down despite the best efforts of Cassie and her employee and best friend, Zoe. Cassie’s worries about the shop are interrupted when an attractive doctor named Joel buys a copy of Wuthering Heights, Cassie’s favorite novel.