One Plus One: A Novel

One Plus One (2014) is a contemporary romance novel by British author Jojo Moyes. A New York Times bestseller, the book was written after Moyes achieved international recognition for her bestselling 2012 novel, Me Before You. In One Plus One, a financially struggling single mother and a wealthy but disgraced tech millionaire form an unlikely bond when they embark on an impromptu road trip to a mathematics competition in Scotland. The novel explores themes of The Resilience of the Non-Traditional Family, The Impact of Socioeconomic Background on Opportunity, and Human Connection in an Indifferent World.

This guide is based on the 2015 Penguin Books paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide contain depictions of bullying, physical abuse, emotional abuse, substance use, cursing, sexual content, graphic violence, illness, and anti-gay bias.

Plot Summary

The novel opens with Ed Nicholls, a successful software developer, being confronted at his office by Sidney, a partner from the firm that recently acquired his company. Sidney accuses Ed of leaking insider information about a new software launch to a woman named Deanna Lewis, who, along with her brother, used the tip to make millions through insider trading. Ed admits to a brief, ill-advised affair with Deanna, a former university crush, but denies any criminal intent. He is suspended from his own company and escorted to a police station, leaving his business partner Ronan stunned.

The novel shifts focus to Jess Thomas, a single mother who is barely making ends meet while raising her 10-year-old daughter Tanzie, who is a math prodigy, and her 16-year-old goth stepson, Nicky, who is relentlessly bullied by a local gang. Her situation becomes critical when her cleaning business loses its best client. Shortly after, Tanzie earns a 90% scholarship to St. Anne’s, a prestigious private school. Jess realizes she still cannot afford the remaining fees and expenses. Jess’s estranged husband, Marty, refuses to provide any financial help, citing his own struggles with depression and unemployment. Two years ago, he left Jess and his children and moved in with his mother in Scotland.

In a flashback, Ed recalls his affair with Deanna. Feeling suffocated by her emotional neediness, he gave her £5,000 and a stock tip to help her pay off debts and encourage her to leave him alone. In the present, Ed is hiding out at his holiday home that is located in Jess’s seaside town, under instruction from his lawyer to stay out of sight. He ignores calls from his sister, Gemma, who is pressuring him to visit their terminally ill father.

While cleaning Ed’s holiday home, Jess finds him rude and dismissive. Later, while working her evening shift at a pub, she sees Ed drinking heavily and intervenes to stop him from driving drunk, arranging a taxi to take him home. She accompanies him on the ride home, during which she learns that Nicky has been hospitalized after another severe beating. After dropping an unconscious Ed home, she finds that he has dropped a roll of cash totaling £480 and his company security pass on the taxi’s floor. In a moment of desperation, Jess takes them.

The next day, Tanzie’s math teacher calls with news of a Math Olympiad in Aberdeen, Scotland, with a £5,000 prize, which would be enough to pay Tanzie’s tuition and expenses at St. Anne’s. Facing a registration deadline for the school, Jess uses Ed’s money to pay the fee. She decides their only way to get to Scotland is by driving Marty’s old, untaxed, and uninsured Rolls-Royce since she cannot afford ticket costs for her, the children, and their big dog, Norman.

The family’s journey begins and ends abruptly when they are pulled over by the police for a faulty headlight. The officers discover the car is illegal to drive and impound it, fining Jess. As they stand stranded by the side of the road, Ed passes them on his way home. He recognizes Jess as the woman who helped him get home from the bar and offers his help. Overhearing Tanzie’s heartbroken cries at missing the Math Olympiad and wrestling with his own feelings of failure, he impulsively offers to drive the family to the Olympiad in Scotland.

The road trip gets off to a difficult start. Tanzie’s severe car sickness forces them to abandon the motorway for slow B-roads, increasing the time of the trip, and she vomits in Ed’s new Audi. That night, Jess reveals she has no money for a hotel, so Ed pays for a room for the children while he, Jess, and Norman sleep in the car. Sharing a bottle of wine, they gradually begin to open up to each other. The next day, after Nicky discovers that his bullies have posted anti-gay abuse on his Facebook page, Ed helps him get revenge by having a friend hack the lead bully’s account. He also encourages Nicky to find his “tribe” online by starting a blog.

The journey is further complicated when Ed gets severe food poisoning from eating a kebab, forcing them to stop at a dismal caravan park. While he is ill, Jess’s pub boss calls and fires her for missing her shifts. The following day, Ed’s lawyer calls with bad news: The police have found the £5,000 check he gave Deanna, strengthening their case against Ed. That evening, Ed confesses his legal troubles to Jess and reveals that it is his birthday. She arranges a surprise dinner for him at the B&B they are staying at, and they connect as they open up about their pasts. Later, they are accidentally locked out of the children’s room and end up sharing Ed’s bed. Jess suggests they have sex, but he gently refuses, feeling that their situation is too complicated.

They race to Aberdeen the next day, but their dog, Norman, accidentally breaks Tanzie’s glasses. They arrive just minutes before the Olympiad begins. While Jess registers Tanzie, Ed dashes out to buy every pair of reading glasses he can find. Tanzie, whose confidence has been shaken by bullies at the event, enters the exam hall without glasses and can’t read the test questions. When Ed returns, he has to forcefully persuade the invigilator to take the glasses in to her. After an awkward goodbye to Jess and Nicky, Ed leaves. He gives Nicky his spare phone, asking the boy to keep it. Afterward, Tanzie emerges from the exam in tears, convinced she has failed because she was unable to solve even the first question.

To comfort Tanzie, Jess decides they should visit Marty. Nicky calls Ed using his phone, and Jess asks if he can drive them to Marty’s mother’s house. However, they discover Marty is not living with his mother but has a new, affluent life with a new partner and her children. Jess realizes Marty has been lying for over a year about his poverty. Enraged, she attacks his new partner’s car until Ed restrains her. Tanzie asks if she can visit with Marty, so Jess allows her and Nicky to stay overnight at Marty’s place, while Ed books a lakeside cabin for himself and Jess. After drinking heavily and smoking marijuana that night, Jess is distraught by the day’s events and tries to drive Ed’s car to retrieve the children, fearing they will prefer their father’s new life. Ed stops her, and she breaks down in his arms. He comforts her, and they make love. The next day, he takes her to see his family. Ed finds his father unexpectedly frail and ill in the hospital, and he confesses the truth about the insider trading case to his family. His father offers unconditional love and support.

Ed drives Jess and the children back home. As a protective measure against the bullies who are targeting Nicky, he buys and installs a security camera at her house. While looking for screws, he discovers his stolen security pass in Jess’s sock drawer and realizes she previously stole his money. Heartbroken by the betrayal, he confronts Jess and leaves. Jess is devastated.

A few days later, the bullies corner Tanzie on the street. Norman breaks through a fence to protect her and is hit by a car as he runs across the street. He is severely injured, and the vet bills are astronomical. Nicky, inspired by Ed, blogs about their struggles. The post goes viral, and a flood of support from online strangers provides enough donated money to cover Norman’s vet bills and gives Nicky a newfound confidence.

The police use footage from the security camera Ed installed to arrest the bullies, who are evicted and served with a restraining order. Jess gets her pub job back, starts a handyperson business, and begins sending Ed apology letters with installment payments. Weeks later, Ed receives a six-month suspended prison sentence and a large fine in the insider trading case. He reconciles with Ronan, and they plan a new software venture. He then receives a call on the backup phone he had given Nicky from the Olympiad organizer, who explains the first exam question was flawed and a test is being held again that afternoon in a nearby town. Ed drives to Jess’s house and takes a nervous Tanzie to the exam. Afterward, he tells Jess he wants to be with her.

An epilogue reveals that months later, Tanzie won the Olympiad and is happily attending St. Anne’s. Jess’s handyperson business is a success, Nicky is thriving at a new college, and Ed and Jess are together, forming a happy, blended family.