Purple State

Dot arrives at the warm Democratic office and is greeted by the smell of coffee. She meets Rose Perkins, an 82-year-old party volunteer who has been active since the Kennedy administration. Soon after, another FTW volunteer, Fletcher Abbott, arrives. Fletcher, a charming and well-connected 27-year-old, is spending the election season in Cedar Falls before starting a job at a Democratic influencer incubator in New York. His easy rapport and future plans make Dot feel slightly envious and insecure about her own post-election prospects.

As they set up for a conference call, Fletcher and Dot discuss a new tech billionaire who may enter the presidential race. Rose, who has a vast knowledge of Wisconsin politics, joins them for their call. Dot readies the conference room, ensuring the technology is working, as she prepares to connect with Kitty.

Dot, Fletcher, and Rose begin their video call with Kitty, who is in her Georgetown home. Fletcher’s familiar, flirtatious greeting reveals his close relationship with Kitty. They review recent polling data showing Republicans with a five-point lead in Wisconsin. When they discuss top issues for voters, Rose expresses skepticism about the national DNC’s priorities, arguing that local voters care more about jobs and the economy than climate change or abortion rights. Kitty agrees, stating her goal is to win Wisconsin by focusing on local concerns.

Dot pitches an idea to charter a bus to take 50 Cedar Falls residents to the debate in Madison, which Kitty enthusiastically approves. After the call, Fletcher explains to Dot that Kitty is highly motivated to win. Not only will a victory secure her a massive “win bonus” of at least $500,000, but it will also elevate her social standing on the Georgetown cocktail circuit and likely lead to a White House job. That evening, as Dot leaves the office, she feels a pang of homesickness for New York City and marks another day off her calendar, counting down to her return.

Mary drives the FTW-provided Jeep to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store for ingredients to make her grandmother’s spaghetti and meatballs, a taste of home she craves. At the store, she gets help finding an ingredient from a young employee and his grandmother, who is working the register. On her drive home, Mary is pulled over by a police cruiser.

The officer, a tall, handsome man with blue eyes and a dimple, informs her she rolled through a stop sign. After a brief, playfully tense exchange where he correctly guesses she is a lawyer from New York, he lets her go with a warning. He teases her about her accent and tells her that in a small town like Cedar Falls, they would have met before. As Mary drives away, she sees him in her rearview mirror, watching her go.

A few days later, Harper texts Mary to meet her at a local sports bar called the Sin Bin, where Harper has begun spending afternoons working on her novel. Mary arrives to find the bar decorated with hockey memorabilia. They meet the owner, Tommy, who recognizes Harper from her frequent afternoon writing sessions there. As they talk, a physical fight breaks out between two other male patrons. Tommy calls the police to break it up.

Deciding to leave, Mary and Harper are stopped by Tommy, who apologizes and offers them free drinks on their next visit. As they exit, they run into a police officer arriving on the scene. It is the same officer who pulled Mary over. He recognizes her instantly, smiling and teasing her for causing trouble again. Annoyed but intrigued, Mary snaps back at him before quickly crossing the street with Harper.

Dot’s chartered bus plan is coming together, and she seeks more participants by visiting the Reader Falls Bookshop to post a flyer. Inside the cozy store, she meets a friendly woman named Grace Taylor and the shop’s elderly owners, Ted and Jeanie Jankowski. Ted, a Democrat, is excited about the bus trip, while his wife Jeanie is a Republican. Dot notices the affectionate ease between the politically divided couple.

A solidly built man named Danny Dawson enters the shop to buy a book of poetry. Dot is immediately attracted to his sad, beautiful eyes. After he leaves, Dot learns his tragic story from Jeanie and Grace. Two years prior, Danny’s fiancée, Sadie, who was eight months pregnant with their daughter, was killed by a drunk driver. Dot is deeply moved by his story and leaves the shop thinking about how everyone carries their own private grief.

On the day of the debate, Kitty flies in from D.C. to join the trip. She, Dot, Fletcher, Rose, and about 50 guests ride the chartered bus from Cedar Falls to the University of Wisconsin in Madison. During the ride, an entertainer leads a Wisconsin trivia contest. Kitty then gives the passengers an insider’s analysis of the nine Democratic candidates. She predicts that only three are viable: Governor Cal Ashby of California, Governor Ramsey Stone of Kentucky, and a long-shot candidate, state senator Lucia Lopez of Georgia. Kitty expresses particular interest in Lopez, noting her rising popularity and potential to break out.

The bus arrives at the venue, where Fletcher and Mary greet them. As the debate begins, Fletcher casually drapes an arm around Dot, creating a hint of romantic tension. At the same time, Dot feels exhilarated by the political work. She wonders whether she has “finally found her calling” (110).

Dot and Fletcher watch the debate from the wings of the stage. During the first half, the candidates give mostly scripted answers. A key moment occurs when the moderators ask who would agree to take a cognitive test; Senator Virgil Penfield, the oldest candidate, hesitates and is booed.

The five-minute commercial break descends into chaos. Governor Ashby races to the men’s restroom and deliberately delays Senator Penfield by taking an excessive amount of time. Another candidate, Mayor Isaiah Grant, has a “hot mic” incident while on the phone, cursing out his staff for the poor placement of his campaign signs in the crowd. Meanwhile, Harper overcomes her shyness to introduce herself to Governor Stone and comes away impressed. Kitty takes the opportunity to speak with Lopez whom she sees as a rising star with the potential to appeal to independent voters.

During the second half of the debate, the candidates become more aggressive. After it concludes, the candidates and their teams head to the spin room for interviews. Governor Ashby’s night ends in embarrassment when a cable news host points out that the website he promoted in his closing statement is an “adult content” site.

A snap poll reveals that Governor Stone and State Senator Lopez tied as winners of the debate, with Governor Ashby trailing in third. On the bus ride back to Cedar Falls, the guests agree that Stone had the best night but also show significant support for Lopez. Before departing for her private jet, Kitty tells her team that Lopez is a long shot worth taking and that they need to “step on the gas” (117). Energized, Fletcher gives Dot a celebratory hug and twirls her around, telling her how good of a “team” they are. After the group arrives back in town, Mary finds a warning ticket on her Jeep’s windshield; on the back, the police officer she keeps encountering has written, “Strike two, New York” (118).

The following Sunday, The Crew attends one of the Taylor family’s traditional Sunday suppers at the farm of Grace Taylor, whom Dot met at the bookstore. They meet her husband, Joe, and their family. Soon, their two sons arrive. Harper is surprised to see it is Tommy, the owner of the Sin Bin, while Mary is shocked to realize his twin brother is Jake, the handsome police officer who has twice given her warnings. The group is amused by the coincidences, and the men invite Harper and Mary to help with evening chores.

Before dinner, Jake takes Mary to the chicken coop, where they flirt while gathering eggs and feeding the chickens. Meanwhile, Tommy takes Harper to the dairy barn. He teaches her how to milk a cow, and she accidentally squirts milk in his face. As they talk, Tommy tells Harper about his dream of opening a small ice cream shop on the farm, an idea Harper enthusiastically supports. They share a moment of connection, and he has her taste the fresh, unpasteurized milk.

In the kitchen, Dot helps Grace prepare the meal. As they are setting the table, Danny Dawson, the man Dot met at the bookstore, arrives for the weekly supper. Dot is pleased to see him, and she wonders if he remembers her.

During Sunday supper, Dot asks Joe about political issues in their Wisconsin area. Joe, a Republican, explains that economic pressure and cultural issues have contributed to the area’s political changes, while Grace says rural voters often feel overlooked by politicians focused on cities. Joe then reveals that the Taylor farm, which has been in the family for generations and now encompasses more than 1,200 acres, is under threat.

The government plans to use eminent domain to acquire the Taylor farm and two neighboring properties for a large manufacturing plant expected to create hundreds of jobs. Joe explains that although the government has offered what it considers a fair price, it cannot account for the farm’s history and his family’s generations of work, including survival through the Great Depression. He fears the project could resemble previous development deals in which farmers lost their land, but the promised jobs never materialized. Joe is frustrated that both political parties can support such projects and says he will fight to preserve the farm if necessary. He also suspects that an unidentified foreign entity, possibly from China, may be behind the proposed development. Mary, drawing on her legal background, becomes interested in the eminent-domain dispute.

After dinner, the group moves to the family room for coffee and watches a basketball game. Danny and Dot talk privately, and he invites her to join him for a run to see a historic covered bridge once the weather warms. Their conversation becomes increasingly flirtatious, and Dot gives Danny her phone number after suggesting they also meet to discuss an idea she has for improving the Reader Falls Bookshop.

By April, spring has arrived in Cedar Falls. Harper establishes a daily routine: She writes at the house in the morning and then moves to the Sin Bin for the afternoon. She also begins leading the children’s reading hour at the Reader Falls Bookshop on Wednesdays. She and Tommy see each other often at his bar and have developed a friendly rapport. The routine helps Harper make progress on her novel, develop friendships in town, and grow increasingly comfortable with herself and her life in Cedar Falls. One Wednesday, Tommy texts Harper, telling her he has something to show her the next day. The mystery of his message distracts her from her writing.

The next afternoon at the Sin Bin, Tommy shows Harper what he was so mysterious about: A small, skinny doodle-mix puppy he found after she nearly ran under his car. He took the dog to an emergency vet, but she has no collar or microchip. Knowing he cannot properly care for her with his work schedule, he asks Harper if she will look after the dog temporarily. Harper, a lifelong dog lover, immediately agrees, despite her allergies. As she pets the dog, she begins sneezing. Tommy gives her some supplies, and Harper carries her new charge home in a tote bag.

In the weeks following dinner at the Taylor farm, Mary continues thinking about Joe’s fight to save his family’s property. She contacts Patricia Parker, a senior partner at her firm who specializes in property law, to discuss eminent domain cases in which landowners successfully fought the government. Patricia advises Mary to figure out where the money is going and coming from. She suggests media attention might help the Taylors. 

Mary begins researching the project and the Taylor family online. She finds an article about Joe that includes a photo of his three sons in their high school football uniforms. A link leads her to another picture of Jake during his time as a Marine in Iraq. Admiring the photo, she saves it to her phone for “research.”

Dot and Danny meet at the bookstore for their run. They first chat with the owners, Ted and Jeanie, who are planning to attend a polka competition. Dot offers to mind the store for them so they can go. Outside, Dot and Danny begin their four-mile run, with Danny leading her along a scenic trail by the river toward a historic covered bridge.

As they run, Dot and Danny talk easily about their lives. Dot learns that Danny deliberately avoids social media because he dislikes the pressure it creates to compare his life with other people’s. At the bridge, he takes her picture, and they share a moment of clear mutual attraction. When Danny mentions that Dot will only be in Cedar Falls for a short time, she calculates that she has six months remaining. For the first time, six months suddenly feels like too little time.

In late May, Dot and Fletcher head to Milwaukee to attend the annual Wisconsin Democrats state convention. Because the convention begins early Saturday morning, Fletcher suggests driving up Friday and having dinner at a restaurant recommended by his parents. Although Dot reminds herself that it is a work dinner rather than a date, she finds herself imagining the two of them enjoying a romantic evening together.

On the drive, Dot and Fletcher discuss the Democratic primary and listen to a political podcast, prompting a conversation about the need for new, younger voices in the party. Dot notices how naturally their political views align and considers how much they have in common. At the same time, her thoughts return to Danny and their recent run together, leaving her uncertain about her feelings toward both men. As they approach Milwaukee, Fletcher tells Dot about DanDan, a popular Chinese American restaurant where his parents have secured them reservations.

After encountering heavy traffic entering Milwaukee, Dot and Fletcher decide to go directly to DanDan before checking into their hotel. At the restaurant, their waiter assumes they are a couple. Dot begins to correct him, but Fletcher plays along, later explaining that he thinks they will receive better service that way. He confidently orders cocktails and food for both of them without consulting Dot, which she finds somewhat controlling, although he happens to choose things she likes.

Over dinner, Dot and Fletcher have an engaging conversation about politics, their childhood, and their futures. Fletcher praises Dot’s work for FTW and reassures her that she is doing an excellent job, boosting her confidence as she continues adjusting to her political career. Dot enjoys his company and recognizes how much they have in common, particularly their political interests and professional ambitions. As they leave the restaurant, Fletcher remarks that they managed to cover the personal and professional during their dinner. His remark leaves Dot wondering whether what she assumed was a work dinner was actually a date.