Elizabeth stabs her PhD advisor Dr. Meyers with a pencil after he sexually assaults her in his office.

Elizabeth meets Calvin Evans at Hastings Research Institute when she steals beakers from his lab.

After running into each other at the theater, Elizabeth and Calvin begin meeting for coffee and fall in love.

Elizabeth and Calvin move in together; she refuses to marry him and they agree never to have children.

A stray dog follows Elizabeth home and joins the household; Calvin and Elizabeth name him Six-Thirty.

Calvin slips on motor oil during a morning run, cracks his skull on the pavement, and dies.

Donatti fires Elizabeth from Hastings after news of her pregnancy threatens to expose his investor fraud.

Madeline is born two weeks early, and neighbor Harriet Sloane steps in to help an overwhelmed Elizabeth.

Donatti enlists Boryweitz to steal Elizabeth's abiogenesis research and publish it under their names.

After quitting Hastings in fury, Elizabeth accepts Walter Pine's offer to host a cooking show called Supper at Six.

Supper at Six launches and becomes enormously popular with its audience of housewives across the country.

Lebensmal attempts to sexually assault Elizabeth in his office, suffers a heart attack, and Walter becomes acting executive producer.

Life magazine publishes a distorted article about Elizabeth, portraying her as attractive but scientifically unaccomplished.

Elizabeth announces her retirement live on Supper at Six during her final episode and thanks her audience.

Avery Parker is revealed to be Calvin's biological mother, and Elizabeth is offered the position of head of chemistry at Hastings.

The story follows Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant chemist at Hastings Research Institute who falls in love with fellow scientist Calvin Evans in the early 1950s. After Calvin's sudden death, Elizabeth is fired from Hastings when her pregnancy threatens to expose her boss Donatti's financial fraud. Forced to reinvent herself, Elizabeth reluctantly becomes the host of a wildly popular cooking show called Supper at Six, where she treats her housewife audience as intellectual equals. Despite relentless harassment from men in power and a damaging profile in Life magazine, Elizabeth builds a devoted following before delivering a memorable farewell episode and walking away from television. When the Parker Foundation's mysterious donor is revealed to be Calvin's biological mother, Avery Parker, Elizabeth finally receives long-overdue professional justice and is appointed head of chemistry at Hastings.

Elizabeth Zott's journey from chemist to TV star and back to science.

Elizabeth's older brother dies by suicide after their parents discover he is gay and torment him.

Calvin accepts a position at Hastings despite it being his lowest-paying offer because the weather suits rowing.

Donatti reassigns Elizabeth from the abiogenesis research she pioneered to a low-level amino acid study.

Calvin pulls out a diamond ring and proposes to Elizabeth in the Hastings cafeteria in front of their colleagues; she refuses.

Calvin teaches Elizabeth to row at the boathouse and introduces her to Dr. Mason, captain of the men's team.

Donatti lies to the abiogenesis investor by claiming the researcher behind the work is a man named Mr. Zott.

Six-Thirty saves a cemetery groundskeeper's life by stanching his head wound, drawing press attention to the mourning dog.

Elizabeth demolishes the kitchen in her apartment and rebuilds it as a chemistry lab to continue her research.

Dr. Mason, acting as Elizabeth's obstetrician, is impressed she has been rowing throughout her pregnancy and encourages her to continue.

Madeline visits the library and meets Reverend Wakely, who helps her track down Calvin's boys' home in Iowa.

Elizabeth insults a sponsor's soup on air, dismisses it as full of toxic chemicals, and rants about women's unequal pay.

Franklin Roth arrives to interview Elizabeth for Life magazine and she unexpectedly tells him her full story.

Frask sends a letter to Life magazine denouncing the false article about Elizabeth and exposing Donatti's misconduct.

Wakely tells Elizabeth that her problem is not wanting out of life but wanting to get back in.

Frask is promoted to head of personnel at Hastings after the Parker Foundation investigates and fires Donatti.

This pool traces the significant but less visible events that drive the novel's narrative forward, revealing the layers beneath the main plot. From early hardships in Elizabeth and Calvin's separate pasts to the obstacles and small triumphs during her years at Hastings and on television, these moments enrich the story's texture considerably. Calvin's deliberate choice of Hastings for its rowing weather, Donatti's manipulation of investors with the Mr. Zott lie, and Six-Thirty's improbable heroics at the cemetery all quietly shape the world Elizabeth inhabits. Dr. Mason's compassionate support during Elizabeth's pregnancy and Madeline's tentative investigation into her father's past lay essential groundwork for the novel's resolution. Frask's courageous letter to Life magazine and her eventual promotion at Hastings demonstrate how solidarity among women finally helps tip the scales toward justice.

The supporting moments and secondary characters that shape Elizabeth's world.

Elizabeth's doctoral admission to UCLA is rescinded after Dr. Meyers spreads lies about the assault to protect himself.

Calvin tracks Elizabeth down after the beaker incident and apologizes for assuming she was a secretary.

Calvin confides in pen pal Wakely that he hates his biological father and wishes him dead; Wakely stops writing.

Calvin and Elizabeth share their difficult family histories in an unguarded late-night Thanksgiving conversation.

Calvin secretly confronts Donatti and threatens to leave Hastings unless Elizabeth is allowed to resume her abiogenesis research.

Elizabeth discovers she is pregnant with Calvin's child in the immediate aftermath of his sudden death.

Elizabeth learns that Calvin had secretly spoken to Donatti on her behalf despite having denied doing so.

Elizabeth and Frask argue at Hastings and both women discover they were each assaulted by their thesis advisors.

Frask secretly hands Elizabeth all of Calvin's boxed notebooks and correspondence that had been kept in storage at Hastings.

Elizabeth's first episode of Supper at Six airs; she ignores cue cards and addresses housewives as intelligent equals.

Harriet inadvertently reveals to Madeline that Calvin had a mysterious fairy godmother donor at his boys' home.

Wakely calls All Saints posing as a donor and the bishop inadvertently reveals the Parker Foundation's connection to Calvin.

Roth's unpublished article arrives at Elizabeth's home; Madeline reads it and delivers it to Wakely, where she meets Frask.

Harriet secretly sends Roth's rejected article to Vogue, which publishes it with Elizabeth on the cover.

Elizabeth warmly invites Avery Parker into her family and returns to abiogenesis research in her Hastings lab.

This pool highlights the pivotal moments of revelation and decision that alter the course of events throughout the novel. From the injustice of Elizabeth losing her doctoral program to the discovery of Calvin's hidden correspondence and buried secrets, each event marks a decisive shift in understanding or direction for the characters. The revelations shared between Elizabeth and Frask about their shared past, and Calvin's secret confrontation with Donatti, demonstrate how hidden truths cast long shadows over the characters' lives. Madeline and Wakely's careful investigation into Calvin's boys' home gradually uncovers the mystery surrounding the Parker Foundation and Calvin's true origins. The pool ends with Elizabeth warmly welcoming Avery Parker into her unconventional family and finally returning to the abiogenesis research she was always meant to pursue.