Layla Birch, a 25-year-old veterinary apprentice, drives towards the small town of Crimson Ridge, Montana. She reflects on a brief, six-month “situationship,” with a man named Kayce Wilder. Layla still has some of Kayce’s belongings and wants to drop them off, craving a fresh start. Although she has not been able to reach Kayce, she has a home address for him. 

On her way, Layla stops for fuel. As she fills her tank, she notices a handsome man in a large black Dodge truck pull up to the adjacent pump. Feeling a bit self-conscious, she finishes fueling and heads inside the station to pay. Inside the gas station, Layla’s debit card is declined twice, and the gas station attendant becomes belligerent. The declined card triggers anxieties about her precarious financial situation. Unexpectedly, the handsome stranger from the black truck steps in and pays for her gas.

Outside, the handsome man and Layla flirt with one another. He is significantly older than Layla and she finds herself attracted to him. However, Layla feels constrained by the knowledge that she is “stuck on hamster wheel of bills to pay, a qualification to finish, and forever feeling older than [her] years” (13).