The protagonist of the novel, Cassie is characterized initially through her first-person narration, as well as secondhand assessments of her, beginning with her boss’s reasons for firing her. He suggests that he can’t have someone with her “general demeanor” in the office (12), and she reflects literally on the fact that being likeable is absent from her job description. As a character who is neurodiverse, Cassie is both self-deprecating and practical in her thoughts about the experiences she has interacting with those around her, thinking about how she feels similar to how she did at the age of 12 when classmates were fighting “over who doesn’t get you as a teammate” (16), and that the sensations are the same though the body is different—“Literally: my cells have cunningly replaced themselves at least twice in the interim” (16)—which evidences her unique way of seeing the world and her place in it. Cassie is witty, has a passion for textiles, is observant and insightful, and is evidently resilient.

Cassie grew up in Cambridge but hasn’t been back in the decade since her parents’ funeral, following their deaths in a car accident, until she takes Will there on a date.