Serena Fitzmaurice is at the exclusive Wurttensee Clinic in Austria on a strict regimen of near-starvation and mindfulness. She reflects on her marriage to Ben, which now feels paternal rather than romantic. Her adored father tied her worth to her beauty and once told her as a child that she was “getting chubby,” triggering a lifelong disordered eating. Menopause has brought mood swings, brain fog, and weight gain, and she worries about Ben’s fading attraction and their dire finances from maintaining Denby Hall and Tipworth Priory.

Ben’s friend Andrew Jarvis loaned them money for renovations at Tipworth, and Serena has been exchanging flirtatious texts with him despite finding him unattractive. She recalls the COVID lockdown, which she spent with her four children in Turks and Caicos, and how purposeless she felt when they returned to boarding school. On Instagram, she notices a post from barrister Dominic Malik-Edwards and recalls a past scandal in which Fliss was caught with him at a party.

Shortly before coming to the clinic, Serena arrived home unexpectedly and found Ben receiving oral sex from her friend Violet in his study. The confrontation was interrupted by a call from Ben’s mother, revealing that Fliss had died, and her body was found on a beach in Bali. Serena admits to herself that she secretly invited Martin to the funeral because she wanted to unsettle her husband and perhaps gain an ally.

Richard Take, a recently demoted MP, walks through London after a tedious lunch. He recalls his forced resignation: CCTV in his ministerial office captured him watching pornography and masturbating on his work computer, and the tabloid headlines were brutal. That same night, his wife, Hannah, a successful lawyer, left him, saying she was no longer in love with him and that their marriage had been one of convenience. Richard reflects that his pornography addiction began as a way to cope with their sexless marriage and his own inadequacy.

At his cramped new office, Richard’s office manager, Terri, informs him that Ben Fitzmaurice has invited him to his sister’s funeral. Richard is thrilled, seeing it as a step back into elite circles. Terri also notes that Andrew Jarvis, a major Conservative donor and Ben’s friend, has a reputation for sexually harassing staff.

Richard calls his crisis PR agent, Gary Brotherton, to discuss media options. Gary pitches a reality TV show called Shit Happens!, in which celebrities work as sewage workers for a £300,000 fee. Hoping to rehabilitate his image and appear as “a man of the people” (58), Richard accepts. He feels a surge of optimism about the funeral and the TV deal, then a pang of sadness when he remembers he can no longer share the news with Hannah.

Seventeen-year-old Cosima Fitzmaurice, Ben’s eldest daughter, sneaks out of her boarding school at night to join an Oblivion Oil environmental protest. She meets fellow activists, including the leader, River, and an older woman, Meadow. River seems to view her as a privileged girl dabbling in activism. They plan to blockade the St. Regis oil terminal in Essex by climbing onto fuel tankers, making it illegal for drivers to move them. Cosima, codenamed Pineapple, is anxious because she must leave in five hours to catch a train to her aunt Fliss’s funeral.

The group travels to the terminal by minibus, then sneaks through the undergrowth to the gates. Cosima fuels her resolve with anger at her father, the Energy Secretary, for cutting green budgets. The confrontation intensifies as drivers arrive, shouting abuse. One driver starts his vehicle and drives forward with River still on top. River falls. Cosima hears a thud and a snap. Meadow screams and runs toward the unmoving body.

The elderly activist Peatbog stops Cosima from approaching, reminding her she cannot risk arrest. Realizing she must leave, Cosima departs, vomiting from fear and distress. She vows to stay angry and keep fighting, convinced River would want her to continue.

Fliss narrates from the afterlife. Expecting instant nothingness, she experiences a blissful, floating sensation as her consciousness expands and connects with everything. Freed from her body, her thoughts are sharp and clear, like the most profound psychedelic experience she has ever had. Finally unbound, she believes she can see and understand all.

Martin recalls the last time he saw Fliss, about five years earlier, at King’s Cross Station. She was crouched with an unhoused man, whom she passionately kissed. The public display worried him, suggesting she was giving up.

On the day of the funeral, Martin arrives at Denby Hall to find a far larger and more public event than expected, with a marquee, celebrities, and security. As he considers leaving, Ben intercepts him, his surprise confirming that he did not send the invitation. Serena reveals she invited Martin, telling Ben to “let bygones be bygones” (84). Martin deduces she wants to unsettle Ben due to marital trouble. When he asks how Fliss died, Serena says she drowned while high in Bali.

Serena seats Martin next to Derek, a man who befriended Fliss in Bali. During the service, Ben delivers a polished eulogy framing Fliss’s death as a tragic accident caused by addiction. Derek urgently tells Martin that Fliss was not using drugs and that she killed herself, leaving a note. He suggests that the actions of Fliss’s family caused her despair.

Martin needles Richard Take about the pornography scandal until Richard retreats. Wandering into the house, he overhears Ben on the phone with Prime Minister Edward Buller. Ben invites Martin into the study for a whiskey, apologizing for their falling-out and suggesting a reconciliation. He offers to speak to Dominic Malik-Edwards to smooth over Martin’s race row. Martin accepts but privately resolves to use this renewed proximity to uncover the truth about Fliss and bring the Fitzmaurice family down.