The story commences in New York during the mid-2000s, introducing Eva and Jamie, both 16 years old, who meet in a hospital waiting room. Eva is there to visit her grandmother Adele, who attempted to end her life by leaping from her care home window, while Jamie is visiting his older brother, who is struggling with addiction. Jamie avoids introducing Eva to his own family and keeps her at arm’s length, wanting to shield her from his troubled world. Despite their disparate backgrounds – Jamie hailing from privilege and Eva from Brooklyn – the two teenagers quickly form a strong bond.
Eva surprises everyone, including herself, by gaining admission to an elite university, while Jamie, a gentle and ever-changing soul, reluctantly attends an expensive college in upstate New York at his parents’ insistence. He soon drops out. Eva, on the other hand, thrives in college and appreciates her grandmother’s financial support, which spares her from student debt. She becomes close to her feminist roommate, Lorrie, and becomes infatuated with Eli, a popular and politically ambitious student who uses her for casual intimacy.
While Jamie distances himself from his family and joins the burgeoning Occupy Wall Street movement, Eva pursues a career in journalism in Washington, D.C. Her entanglement with Eli continues, albeit in a more tenuous and less satisfying way. Eva’s work takes her from investigative reporting to the “Wellness” section of the newspaper, signifying a potential dead end in her journalism career. Meanwhile, Jamie finds refuge with Eva’s nurturing parents, who offer him a home.
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