Sloane was born in Florida. She’s never met her father, whom her mother describes as a “brief fling.” Sloane’s mother was a hardworking house cleaner. She developed arthritis, and Sloane would rub oil and balm on her joints. They moved around, and Sloane felt like an outcast. When they moved to Georgia when Sloane was in the 5th grade, Sloane realized she was a “blank canvas.” She told the other students she was from California and her father was in the movies. She claimed she had a big house with a pool. When students asked to come over, Sloane said her house burned down. Parents and teachers discovered her lie, and the principal forced Sloane to write an apology letter. Sloane and her mother moved again. Under the influence of Anna Sewell’s novel Black Beauty (1877), Sloane told a friend that she rode horses.

Sloane continues to lie as an adult. She makes mistakes and tries to stop, but like a “favorite shirt,” she inevitably returns to lying. Sloane fears coming across as boring. She finds the truth “uninteresting.” Only her mother receives honesty.

Sloane was unemployed for months before Rose & Honey hired her. Lena, the owner, asked if she had a cosmetology license. Sloane lied and said she did. She then bought a counterfeit license online. Sloane makes $21 an hour and over $1000 a month in tips.

Laura Hoffman is one of Sloane’s customers. She has a penthouse on the Upper East Side, but her son lives in Brooklyn Heights—the affluent Brooklyn neighborhood where the spa is located. Laura’s husband died, and Laura and his children spar over the husband’s inheritance. Laura treats Sloane with respect, and she gives Sloane a $100 tip after Sloane lies and says that she spilled coffee on her MacBook, ruining the hard drive, which contained the last 50 pages of her novel.

Chloe is the Rose & Honey receptionist that Sloane likes the best. She attends Brooklyn College, and her parents are Korean. Natasha is Sloane’s “co-nail tech.” Natasha commutes from Jersey City. Her mother is Vietnamese, and her father is Italian.

Sloane lies to Natasha. She says she met someone and they went out to dinner the night before. Sloane claims they had “great” sex; in the morning, he made her breakfast. Sloane says the guy plans to take her to a Broadway show. Natasha wonders if Sloane’s “new boyfriend” has a friend. The last date Natasha went on involved Subway and a crass joke about his “foot-long.”

In reality, Sloane and her mother fell asleep during Seinfeld. She woke up and googled Jay. She found his LinkedIn page, but his other social media accounts weren’t public.

For Sloane’s afternoon break from Rose & Honey, she goes to Quailwood Park. She reads Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca, listens to Taylor Swift, and thinks about Jay. She meets Harper, and Harper’s mother/Jay’s wife, Violet, whom Sloane compares to the Venus de Milo statue at the Louvre. Sloane also sees Violet as Daisy Buchannan, Jay Gatsby’s romantic interest in The Great Gatsby.

Violet also likes Taylor Swift, and Sloane details Violet’s chic style. Violet bemoans the length of her bangs, and Violet and Sloane make fun of their respective to-do lists. Violet gives Harper M&M’s, and Harper says goodbye to Sloane. Violet invites Sloane to dinner that night. Sloane then hurries back to the spa.

Sloane lives in Carroll Gardens. Sloane and her mother moved there to care for an aunt when Sloane was in high school. The aunt had unhealthy kidneys and a bad liver. Before the aunt died, she added Sloane and her mother to the lease, so they continue to pay under $1,000 a month. Now, a two-bedroom, one-bath in Carroll Gardens costs over $1.5 million. Violet, Jay, and Harper live in nearby Cobble Hill, which is even more expensive.

Back at the day spa, Chloe alerts Sloane that she has a customer waiting for her. The customer is Allison McIntyre. When Allison sees Sloane, she yells at Sloane to stay away from her. Sloane didn’t know Allison scheduled an appointment. Allison leaves, and Sloane takes another break.

Allison lives in a new high-rise in a nearby neighborhood. Sloane alludes to a conflict they had 18 months prior. Sloane has been on the lookout for Allison, but today is the first time she’s seen her since the mysterious incident.

Violet texts Sloane their address; using an app, Sloane learns Violet and Jay bought their brownstone for $3.25 million. Before leaving, Sloane makes her mom a veggie scramble. Sloane puts effort into her appearance, applying makeup and exchanging her glasses for contacts.

Sloane feels like she’s a kid on Christmas. She remembers her central lies: Her name is Caitlin, and she’s a nurse. She turns down a drink. Violet doesn’t drink either. Jay arrives home from work. Sloane thinks he looks more handsome than he did at the park. More so, he doesn’t act like a stereotypical husband: He gets his own beer, and he helps Violet prepare the pasta.

At dinner, Harper reveals her love for the A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories (1926). The previous nanny, Nina, read them to her. Sloane used to be a nanny. In college, she switched her major from English to early childhood education. After she graduated, she was a nanny until she became a teacher at the local, affluent preschool Mockingbird Montessori. Her students adored her because her lying made her a “master storyteller.” Abruptly, she “lost” the preschool job, so she became a nail tech.

Harper spills her milk and Sloane helps her clean it up. Violet gives Harper two M&M’s to take a bath. Violet says Harper adores Jay. She claims everyone admires him. The women have tea in the cozy living room. There’s one picture of Harper, but no photos of Jay or Violet. Allison had lots of photos, and Sloane saw some of Allison’s photos that she wasn’t supposed to look at.

Sloane tells Violet about herself. Concerning her father, she reveals the truth. Then she lies and says she’s in nursing school. Sloane claims her mother has lupus, so she gave up her apartment to move in with her mother and take care of her. As she’s taking a break from nursing school to look after her mother, she also has time to watch Harper. Sloane envisions herself becoming Harper’s full-time, live-in nanny.

Violet tells Sloane about herself. Violet and Jay lived in San Francisco for 10 years. She passed the bar exam, and her father offered her a position at his law firm, but they moved to New York City for Jay’s work.

At home, Sloane’s mother is asleep in front of the TV. In her bed, Sloane wonders what Jay and Violet are doing in their bed. She imagines she, not Violet, is in bed with Jay. She stops the fantasy. She wants to be friends with Violet, and she’s sure Violet wants the same.