Sarah Nickerson is the protagonist of a story told in first-person narrative. She is the only well-developed character in the novel. Sarah is 37-years-old, a Type-A perfectionist who works as the vice-president of human resources for a large international strategic consulting firm. Sarah describes her story with great humor, even under dark circumstances. She graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she met her husband Bob. Sarah’s family lives in an affluent suburb of Boston called Welmont, which is full of similarly upwardly-mobile families. At the beginning of the story, Sarah obsesses over her fast-paced lifestyle, working 80-hour weeks while still trying to be present as a parent to the best of her ability. She loves her children and husband fiercely, but struggles to find enough hours in the day to give them the attention she feels they deserve.

While at work, Sarah feels competent and in control, though the ever-increasing demands of her bosses become overwhelming. Sarah allows herself five-minute breaks for crying alone in her office, as a coping mechanism to deal with her stress. Sarah’s need to prove herself superior stems from a childhood in which she felt unwanted.