Foe

Set in an unspecified near future, the novel follows Junior, a farmer who lives with his wife, Henrietta (called "Hen"), in a remote farmhouse surrounded by vast, government-owned canola fields. One evening, Junior wakes to see unfamiliar green-tinted headlights approaching their property. A man in a dark suit steps out of a black car, greets both Junior and Hen by name, and introduces himself as Terrance, a representative of OuterMore, a joint government-private organization that evolved from the driverless automobile sector into aerospace development. Terrance explains that OuterMore has constructed a massive space station orbiting Earth for temporary human resettlement, a project called "the Installation."

Terrance reveals that Junior has been placed on a "long list" through a lottery for possible selection to travel to the Installation. The lottery uses algorithms that monitor keywords spoken near household screens; Junior's past references to space or travel triggered his inclusion. Junior is defensive, insisting he never volunteered and that he and Hen have a life together. Hen is conspicuously quiet throughout the visit, though she tells Junior they need to listen.

In the aftermath, Hen asks Junior to sleep in the spare room and locks the bedroom door. For roughly a week she remains aloof before gradually returning to what Junior perceives as normal. Their outward routine resumes, but Junior admits the visit has privately reformed his inner world. He resolves to shield Hen from his anxiety while thinking about the lottery every day. During this period, he reflects on foundational memories: first spotting Hen on the side of a road, their brief courtship, their outdoor wedding, and the early years of their marriage. These memories are vivid, though he notes an inability to recall his life before Hen, describing those years as a "nebulous fog."

Over two years later, Terrance returns and announces that Junior has made the short list. He begins conducting separate, private conversations with Junior and Hen. Junior watches from the barn as Hen argues animatedly with Terrance in the kitchen, though neither mentions the exchange afterward. Terrance takes physical measurements and photographs of Junior for OuterMore's databank. Before leaving, he asks Junior what Hen has told him. Junior does not understand the implication.

In the weeks that follow, Hen opens up about her dissatisfaction. She tells Junior the predictability of their relationship has become suffocating and that she feels trapped. Junior insists she would hate city life and that the farm is where she belongs, reflecting his tendency to offer reassurance rather than genuinely listen. Shortly afterward, Terrance returns with a large suitcase and announces that Junior has been officially selected. He will stay at the farm to observe Junior and gather data for OuterMore. While clearing the guest room, Hen discovers a large horned rhinoceros beetle in the closet. Junior is mesmerized by it, staring for an extended period, while Hen is repulsed.

Terrance explains the central component of OuterMore's plan: A biomechanical duplicate of Junior will be created to live with Hen during his years-long absence. He describes the technology as a "self-determining life-form" with living tissue, physically and behaviorally indistinguishable from Junior. Junior reacts with fury, but Terrance insists the replacement is the only solution given Hen's isolation.

As Terrance settles in, he installs surveillance equipment and conducts formal interviews with Junior in the attic, positioning him facing the wall while Terrance sits behind him. The interviews cover Junior's habits, memories, and relationship with Hen, growing increasingly invasive. Terrance also takes over Junior's shifts at the mill, goes shopping with Hen, and wears Junior's clothes, gradually inserting himself into Junior's daily life. He applies sensors to Junior's body and administers pills he calls painkillers for a shoulder injury Junior sustained in the canola fields. The injury requires Junior to sleep in a living room recliner, further separating him from Hen. Junior begins feeling mentally energized yet notices troubling gaps in his memory. In a candid moment, Hen reveals she does not play the piano for herself but only because Junior wants her to, deepening the portrait of their marriage's imbalance.

Convinced that Terrance intends to replace him, Junior drills a spy hole through the bathroom wall and watches Terrance place his hand on Hen's leg during a private session. He stops taking the pills, believing they suppress his reasoning, and discovers his shoulder bears no scar despite the supposed procedure. His mental state grows erratic: He stops eating, exercises obsessively, and stares at beetles for long periods.

Junior bursts into Terrance's room to confront him but collapses, weakened. He wakes restrained in his recliner, bound by metal brackets, with cameras surrounding him and men in dark suits by the door. Terrance tells him there is no Installation trip. The real Junior left for the Installation on the night of Terrance's very first visit, over two years ago. The real Junior then walks through the door, physically identical to the narrator. The narrator is the replacement, a biomechanical duplicate that has lived with Hen the entire time, believing itself to be the real Junior. Its first conscious experience was seeing the green headlights. All of its vivid memories were implanted from the real Junior's recollections.

Hen confirms she knew the truth from the beginning, agreeing to the arrangement in hopes it might help her appreciate her marriage. She apologizes to the replacement but will not make eye contact. The real Junior embraces Hen and thanks the replacement for looking after her. The replacement protests desperately, but Terrance signals the men to take it away.

The narrative shifts to the real Junior's perspective. He and Hen sit at dinner after his return, exhausted and unable to find words. The replacement has been destroyed through a process OuterMore calls "induced fatal entropy." Hen reveals she formed a genuine bond with the replacement, which adapted, listened, and showed concern in ways she found meaningful. She questions why it had to be destroyed. Junior dismisses her attachment as a product of programming and grows irritated when she refers to the replacement as "him." Tensions escalate until Junior shouts after her, asking whether she slept with the replacement. The front door slams shut.

Months of cold cohabitation follow. Hen locks her screen, goes to bed without speaking, and drifts further away. One night she drags the piano bench Junior built for her outside and burns it.

In the final sequence, Hen undergoes a sudden shift. Earlier in the novel, she described a fantasy of leaving Junior a note that would "say nothing and everything at the same time." Now she leaves him a sealed envelope containing a blank page and disappears for over eight hours. When she returns, she is warm and affectionate in ways she has not been since Junior came home: She kisses him, asks about his work, laughs at his jokes, and says she is happy. Terrance stops by briefly, and Hen greets him warmly. Later, Junior finds Hen standing motionless in the kitchen, staring transfixed at a horned rhinoceros beetle in the sink, mirroring the replacement's earlier behavior. Junior crushes the beetle with a spoon, washes it down the drain, and goes outside to watch the sunset with his wife, content that life has returned to normal, apparently unaware that Hen may now be a replacement herself.