Teddy Wayne captures the insecurities and critique culture of some academic programs while settling in on two contrasting characters and their unique concepts of entitlement. One comes from educational and financial privilege but may lack the literary talent to transform his MFA into a career. The other is a modest Midwesterner scraping by but was born with an unmistakable talent to write.

The two of them form an unlikely and fragile friendship when the narrator offers up one of the rooms in his great aunt's rent-stabilized Manhatten apartment. The narrator reluctantly asks his new roommate to clean the apartment and cook a few meals throughout the week (reluctantly because the new roommate insists on lending his fair share).

Over time, disquieting differences become jealous-fueled cracks in the relationship, eventually punctuated by an unforgivable act. As the aftermath plays out, the narrator reveals something unexpected about his character — a motivation that forces the reader to reevaluate the whole of the work. In doing so, Wayne lends something fresh to stories that touch on individual perspectives.