Emily is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. In the opening chapters, she narrates concerns about her boringness and conventionality, especially in comparison to her vivacious, free-spirited, independent best friend. While Kristen moves across the world for a job opportunity and is perfectly happy without a romantic relationship, Emily is content to stay in Milwaukee and longs to find a life partner and become a mother. While she may think her normalcy makes her boring, that very quality allows readers to imaginatively inhabit her position and consider how they would handle her dilemma.

Emily’s childhood and young adult experiences created the prime conditions for a possessive manipulator like Kristen to gain a foothold in her life. Her father was cold and uncaring, sometimes using corporal punishment simply because he found her annoying. Her mother was distant and neglectful, taking no actions to protect Emily from her father. Her first college boyfriend, Ben, had anger issues that eventually escalated to his harming her. Moreover, Kristen and Emily met and bonded in a college economics class where they were the only two women. Given these past experiences, it is not surprising that Emily is slow to perceive that a fellow woman is going to violent lengths to control her, and quick to accept that woman’s claims of allyship against dangerous men.