Frances studies in Dublin while writing poetry and performing her lyrics with her best friend Bobbi in the evenings. One night they meet the older couple Nick and Melissa, and become wrapped up in their glamorous life. Behind their friends' backs, Frances and Nick begin an affair.

The characters were  difficult to like most of the time, but I don't think Sally Rooney's intention was to portray them as likeable and good people. They are pretentious and repeat the same mistakes all the time. But they felt very human. I was drawn to Frances as the main character because I could recognize parts of myself in her. She is a very emotional person, but she has a difficulty expressing these feelings and is therefore perceived as cold.