Percy, Joe, and Zoe spend most of the holiday break in each other’s company in Berkeley. They forbid each other from doing anything that fits into the normal rhythm of their lives, which includes songwriting.

One day, while they are sitting in Joe’s backyard, Zoe prompts them to play happy songs, which leads them to discuss nuanced types of happiness. Percy feels that she cannot distinguish between happiness and fun. Joe proposes that the happiness of validation is an acceptable version that isn’t tied to fun, but Percy thinks it doesn’t count because it comes with the pressure of having to sustain the cause of that validation. Joe and Percy continue playing songs about happiness, sifting through the decades until they reach the year 2000. They admit that finding happy songs for the new decade is a struggle.

Joe breaks the “no normal rhythms” rule later that night when he realizes that “Funny Strange” resembles a song by Nick Lowe. Percy thinks he is angry at her for failing to catch this, but he isn’t. He offers a new happy song for the year 2000: “Weird Divide” by a new band called the Shins. Percy is bewildered to hear them for the first time and recalls her experience with the Beach Boys.

Joe talks to Percy about his relationship with Zoe, aware that its end is imminent. Percy interprets the conversation to mean that Joe is afraid of disentangling himself from Zoe because she has been such a dominant presence in his life. Percy reassures Joe that he will become bolder with time. He appreciates her advice, validating her. They listen to “Weird Divide” again, agreeing that the song is about the happiness of connecting with someone. They briefly touch. Later, as Percy falls asleep, she reflects on the fact that tension serves their relationship.

Zoe and Joe break up, and Percy fears that their friend group will soon end. A week later, Zoe asks Percy how Joe is doing. Joe spends most of his time at band practice, preparing for Caroline’s first show. Zoe does not plan to go to the show because she thinks it will defeat the purpose of their breakup. She then mocks Percy for failing to pursue Joe now that he is available.

Zoe confides that she is afraid of coming out to her parents, especially her Catholic father. Percy encourages her to focus on the things she is good at until she can muster up the courage to come out. Zoe admits that she is also afraid that she and Percy will drift apart when Percy starts dating Joe. Percy embraces her, and the two kiss. Percy allows Zoe to touch her breasts, but when Zoe asks to take Percy’s shirt off, Percy reminds Zoe that they are in public. Zoe asks Percy what kind of intimacy girls seek out, unsure if her own personal preferences apply to all other girls. Percy admits that she doesn’t really know yet because most of her intimacy has manifested in conversations on music. Zoe confesses that she can’t really tell Percy what kind of intimacy Joe seeks out, apart from sex.

That evening, Percy listens to a version of “Just Like a Woman” by Nina Simone. She is surprised by the added meaning the song takes on when it is sung by a woman. The song activates her feminist ideals, making her care for Simone’s desire to reclaim her feminine frailty from Bob Dylan, the original songwriter. Percy writes this thought down, unsure if it will fit a Ring Finger column.

Caroline’s first show is a success. When Percy realizes that Joe will not come to her while he is entertaining the crowd, she goes home. Later, Joe arrives at her house and thanks her with a joyful embrace. Just when she thinks they are about to have sex, Joe tells her that he needs to return to the bar.

Percy wonders if they might ever have sex. Joe predicts that if they enter a relationship, they’ll be happy for a short time but will break up when they lose interest in each other. Percy is too important to Joe. He calls her his “critic” and tells her that he can’t afford to lose her feedback, which he suspects has been the most fun thing in her life thus far. Percy is wounded by the possibility that she isn’t Joe’s type.

She challenges Joe by making him promise that they will never enter into a romantic relationship, an idea that she pulls from the song “Never Is a Promise” by Fiona Apple. Joe recognizes the lyric and answers with the next line, signaling his acceptance. Percy gets angry that Joe failed to capitulate.

While listening to “Never Is a Promise,” Joe explains that his audience is important to him because it is his only source of validation. He tries to console Percy by telling her that she is meant for someone better, and she mocks his lyricism in return. Finally, Joe wonders if their relationship is doomed to fail, and he proposes having sex if it is. This forces Percy to concede that Joe was right about her having fun as his critic. He reassures her with the idea of their continued collaboration, prompting Percy to wonder if she is his collaborator or his critic. Joe avoids answering this question.

The next morning, Percy tells Zoe what happened. Zoe doesn’t believe that Percy isn’t Joe’s type, nor does she believe that he is trying to protect their relationship. She points out that Joe normally doesn’t care about other people’s opinions of him, but Percy is the exception. She posits that Joe is afraid of disappointing Percy.

Zoe reveals that Joe takes promises very seriously ever since his father promised that his mother wouldn’t die after she became sick. Percy realizes that by making Joe promise to avoid a relationship, she inadvertently convinced him to commit to the idea. Zoe is repulsed by Percy’s insistence on blaming herself for Joe’s decisions. Percy decides that if she is patient, Joe will eventually forget about his promise. Zoe insults Joe for being so manipulative, calling him a “son of a bitch.” Percy objects to her insulting both Joe and his mother, and Zoe is offended in turn that Percy would take her expression so seriously. She walks out on Percy.

Percy becomes more careful with the feedback she gives to Joe, and as a result, his creative output slows down; he is also refocusing his energies to improve Caroline’s live performances.

Percy’s father calls her early on the morning of September 11, 2001, to inform her of the attack on the World Trade Center. Joe keeps Percy company throughout the rest of that day. They watch the news from Percy’s bay window. Joe asks Percy if she would still want to have children, and both of them agree that it would be morally dubious to bring children into the world in increasingly fraught times. Percy predicts that the government will use the attacks to remain in power, preying on the American people’s fear of further violence at home.

The next day, Joe and Percy go out to get supplies. Percy expresses her concern that her father is becoming a Republican and supporting the idea of invading Afghanistan. Zoe briefly visits her parents, announcing her intent to produce a pacifism-themed issue of Ring Finger. After Zoe leaves, Joe admits that he misses being part of Zoe’s family. He expects that he will soon flunk out of college, which makes it imperative to focus on his musical career full-time. Percy worries that this decision is too risky, so Joe encourages her to make their next songs good. Percy, who isn’t credited as Joe’s cowriter but is acknowledged under “Special thanks,” offers to help him with his schoolwork instead, though she already knows that her offer is futile.

They listen to the song “After the Gold Rush” by Neil Young, which Percy thinks is a perfect song for this historical moment. The lyrics encourage her to recall the promise she made with Joe, calling it “silly.” Joe asserts that he takes the promise seriously, so Percy asks him to define the parameters of the promise. Joe posits that they shouldn’t kiss, but she challenges the definition by restricting the boundary to kisses on the mouth. She subsequently kisses him on the cheek, which Joe accepts. She straddles him and kisses his other cheek, after which he accuses her of ruining the song. This idea mortifies Percy.

On September 13, 2001, Percy visits Neil at Amoeba Music, hoping to finish the sexual encounter she abruptly ended the last time they were together. Although she isn’t attracted to Neil, Percy knows exactly what to expect from him. She thus believes that she must have sex with him in order to truly enter adulthood. After attending a hip-hop show that evening, they go back to Neil’s place, remembering the failure of their last sexual encounter. Percy was a sophomore student then, but she is now a college senior. Percy and Neil have sex in his car. The sex is painful enough that Percy imagines it obscuring her past and emboldening her to become someone wiser.

The pain persists even after Percy gets home and goes for a walk. She listens to OK Computer, an album by Radiohead, which gives her comfort as she vomits from alcohol poisoning and has body horror nightmares. Waking up from her nightmare, she hears the song “Let Down,” which she replays over and over, drowning out everything else around her. She interprets the song as a retelling of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, which resonates with her self-perceived grotesqueness. Percy wonders how she can perform her own misery and exorcise it from her body.