When the novel begins, Sloan is a 21-year-old college student in more than one difficult situation. She is beholden to Asa, her abusive boyfriend, and thinks she has to rely on him to care of her brother, Stephen. Stephen lives in a care facility that helps him manage his autism, among other things.

Sloan is clever, compassionate, and self-sacrificing. She has a strong sense of duty and does what she believes she has to do—take care of her brother and keep him from returning to their mother’s care. Tragically, it is Sloan’s selflessness that puts her in danger because of Asa’s willingness to exploit her best traits. Despite her strength, Sloan ends up entrapped and subservient to Asa’s needs, which are constant and degrading. She has given up when Carter walks in, saying, “Me and hope have never had good results” (24).

Asa preys on Sloan because she is inexperienced and innocent. Initially, he thinks she is just aloof, but he gradually realizes that that Sloan “[knows] exactly how cruel the world [is] and that’s why she [keeps] her distance from everyone” (111). Sloan understands the world’s cruelty because her mother neglected to show her love. She was not raised as poorly as Asa, but Sloan did not let her mother’s failures turn her into another neglectful person.