My Not So Perfect Life

Katie Brenner is a young woman working as the most junior staff member at Cooper Clemmow, a branding and strategy agency in London. She grew up on a dairy farm in Somerset after her mother died, raised by her father, Mick, but has spent years reinventing herself for city life: straightening her curly hair, adopting a London accent, and going by Cat instead of Katie. She commutes over an hour each way from Catford, and her work consists of inputting thousands of handwritten surveys for a coffee creamer client.

Katie is fascinated by her boss, Demeter Farlowe, the agency's executive creative director, whom she sees as having a perfect life: a two-million-pound house, a brainy husband, two children, and a constant presence at glamorous events. Yet Demeter is a flawed manager, scattered and forgetful, prone to tactless remarks the office calls "being Demetered." Several colleagues harbor resentment, particularly Rosa, a senior creative passed over for Demeter's job, and Sarah, Demeter's assistant, who is bitter because Demeter previously made her boyfriend redundant. Overseeing the agency is its CEO and co-founder, Adrian.

Katie's fortunes shift when Demeter sends her to intercept a visitor named Alex. He invites her to the roof to test products for a branding project, and they fly a drone into a neighboring building's meeting room, causing comedic chaos. Alex advises Katie to ask Demeter to attend group meetings, and she earns a spot. Flora, a colleague, reveals that Alex is a partner at Cooper Clemmow and the son of one of advertising's most powerful figures. Katie and Alex grow closer, spontaneously joining a charity Santa bike ride through London one evening. But Flora casually reveals that Demeter and Alex have been having an affair "like, forever." Katie is devastated. At the office Christmas party, a drunk Flora tells Alex that Katie is in love with him, and Katie flees in mortification.

In February, problems escalate around Demeter: an email accidentally forwarded to a client, a missed deadline, and mounting complaints. One day in the lift, Demeter begins giving Katie an encouraging speech, then realizes with horror she has not actually fired her yet; she merely convinced herself the conversation already happened. Katie is let go. In a raw outburst, she tells Demeter and Alex they are entitled, that she cannot afford the book Demeter recommended, and that she lied about eating at expensive restaurants to impress Demeter.

Jobless, Katie moves home to Ansters Farm and tells Mick and her stepmother, Biddy, a former chef, that she is on a "sabbatical." Using Biddy's recent inheritance, they launch a luxury glamping business. Katie designs the brochure, website, and brand identity, insisting on yurts and luxury touches. The Guardian profiles the farm, bookings pour in, and Mick reinvents himself as "Farmer Mick," a children's entertainer. Over three months, Katie applies relentlessly for London jobs but receives only one interview, which ends in rejection. She conceals her desperation, pretending phone calls from headhunters are consultations with Cooper Clemmow.

Then Demeter books a holiday at the farm under her married name. Terrified of exposure, Katie disguises herself with blue-dyed curly hair, a baseball cap, and her natural Somerset accent. Demeter does not recognize her. Katie observes Demeter's family: her children are rude, and her husband, James, is emotionally distant. She overhears James say he wants a three-year job in Brussels, leaving Demeter stricken.

Katie plots revenge through fake "bespoke" activities, inventing a fraudulent Druid practice called "Vedari" and subjecting Demeter to cowpat-laced mud facials, impossible yoga poses, cold-rock massages, and stable-mucking framed as "mindful cleansing." But Katie witnesses Demeter weeping into the mane of the farm's horse and feels unexpected sympathy. She notices Demeter is anxious and craven around her children, nothing like the commanding boss from the office. When Demeter's daughter Coco cruelly uses a family nickname for her, "Mrs. Invisible," Demeter is visibly pained. Katie speaks to the children about gratitude, and Coco offers a grudging thank-you that makes Demeter radiant.

On the next outing, Katie leads Demeter toward a swamp, and Demeter falls in. During the confrontation, Katie's disguise falls apart and Demeter recognizes her. Demeter debunks Katie's belief that her life is perfect, describing crippling mortgage payments and exhaustion. She denies the affair with Alex, calling the rumor "ridiculous," and reveals she fears she has early-onset dementia because her emails and appointments keep changing without explanation. She believes Alex, who is arriving at the farm, has come to fire her. Shaken, Katie agrees to help.

Alex confirms he intends to fire Demeter, citing a cascade of workplace failures. He and Katie spend the day together on the farm. Alex opens up about his rootless childhood and tells Katie she should not hide her Somerset identity. They grow close and sleep together in a meadow.

Demeter returns from London with one email printout supporting her version of events, and she and Katie suspect Sarah has been systematically sabotaging her: creating fake email accounts, manipulating her calendar, and gaslighting her. Alex dismisses the theory and fires Demeter. The critical email blows into a campfire and burns. In the chaos, Steve Logan, Katie's ex-boyfriend from school who works on the farm, douses Demeter with water, and the truth about Katie's job loss spills out before her father.

Katie tearfully confesses everything to Mick and Biddy. Biddy mediates, telling Mick he puts too much pressure on Katie and telling Katie she need not pretend her life is perfect. The family reaches a new, honest understanding.

Demeter had secretly kept email printouts in a locked office cupboard, but when Katie travels to London to retrieve them, the cupboard is empty: Sarah cleared it out. Improvising, Katie goes to the Blue Bear pub, where Sarah, Rosa, and Flora hold weekly drinks, and secretly records their confessions. Sarah admits to creating fake email accounts, forwarding Demeter's draft insult to a client, manipulating her calendar, and giving another client a wrong phone number. Rosa helped sabotage a deadline, and Flora fed Sarah information. Katie plays the recording for Demeter and Alex, and they take it to the CEO, Adrian, who is horrified.

Sarah and Rosa are fired. Demeter is vindicated and reinstated, taking the department to lunch to explain the truth. Adrian offers Katie a position not as a research associate but as creative director, reporting directly to Demeter, who plans to mentor her.

Katie moves to a flat in Hanwell. She and Demeter develop a close working relationship. However, Alex leaves for New York to reconnect with his estranged father. Katie, heeding Demeter's warning that Alex is nicknamed "One-Way Alex" because he never returns, preemptively tells him their relationship was just fun. She launches an Instagram account called @mynotsoperfectlife, posting honest photos of her real London existence.

Then, at a work outing, Alex appears unexpectedly. He tells Katie he is tired of running and wants her as his "moss," the rootedness he has never had. Katie admits what she wanted was never just fun but "us." They kiss in front of the entire staff while Demeter watches, moved. Alex asks Katie to choose a restaurant, and she pulls out the handwritten list of London restaurants she has carried for years. They plan a family supper with Dad and Biddy before heading to his flat.