Author and professor Jacob Finch Bonner (Jake) commutes to his office at Ripley College in Northern Vermont from New York on a rainy June day. As he travels, the narrator explains the history of Ripley’s creative writing program, Jacob’s parents, childhood, and his dreams of being famous.

Now, however, it is the first day of the Ripley Symposia—a program for older, non-resident students—but Jacob demonstrates is burned out. He thinks about his successful first book, less successful second book, and the rejections of his third and fourth books. When he arrives at his office, he begins to read his 12 students’ folders of fiction.  

The student work is mostly not very good. In the morning, Jake attends a faculty meeting on very little sleep and sees a couple new professors, but avoids talking to anyone and slips out as soon as the meeting is over. He goes to his temporary apartment to nap.

After napping, Jake attends the welcome cookout that is mandatory for faculty. There, a blond guy grabs a beer that Jake was reaching for, and Jake notices him being obnoxious throughout the rest of the event. A new poetry faculty member named Alice Logan compliments Jake’s writing.