The novel opens in the past, as Emma and her boyfriend, Simon, tour an apartment with a leasing agent. Emma doesn’t like this particular location because it is too prone to possible crimes, and it is revealed that she has recently been the victim of a violent home break-in. The novel shifts to Jane’s perspective in the present. Jane, too, is touring apartments with a leasing agent, and is unhappy with the options she has been presented. Both Jane and Emma are told, separately, that they could possibly be candidates to apply to live at One Folgate Street.

The novel continues to switch back and forth from Emma’s story, in the past, and Jane’s story, in the present, as they experience almost parallel events. Each woman tours One Folgate Street, marveling at the “cream-colored stone” (12) and the windows that “flood the inside with light” (11). Emma expresses feeling particularly safe in the isolating space of the home, while Simon comments on the prison-like atmosphere.

In order to live at One Folgate Street, tenants must agree to a lengthy list of conditions. Upon hearing the terms paraphrased by her agent, Emma agrees that she can commit to making this “big change” (16).