Nicole Baker rents a small lavender house in Spanish Fork after her parents, Kathryne Baker and Charles Baker, separate. Working as a waitress and later in a sewing factory, she buys a used Mustang and tries to stabilize her life. She meets Gary Gilmore at Sterling Baker’s house. Their first conversation feels fated to her, and she returns that night to see him again. They talk about prison, karma, and love, and begin a relationship defined by intensity and instability.

Gary soon moves into her house. He works for Spencer McGrath, while Nicole quits her job and relies on welfare and his wages. They drink, drive around, and spend evenings together, carving declarations of love into her apple tree and exchanging tattoos. Gary alternates between tenderness and insecurity, especially regarding his past and his dentures. As their relationship becomes more intense, Nicole believes she has finally found real love, even as hints of Gary’s volatility remain.

Gary asks Nicole intimate questions, which she is hesitant to answer. He asks her about the first time that she had sex; she replies that she was either 11 or 12 and that it “wasn’t that big of a deal” (89).