Alison, the protagonist, is a 21-year-old cello student from Northwest Ohio who studies at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Although she comes from a conservative Methodist upbringing, Alison has turned away from her beliefs and entered into a polyamorous relationship with Luke, a graduate student at the University of Cincinnati, and his wife Cheryl. Through this relationship, Alison has been able to explore her nascent bisexuality and enjoy the affection she has been denied by her reticent mother and absent father. While the members of the triad hold lofty principles about openness and trust, the practice of that relationship—and its ever-shifting unwritten rules—fail to live up to their ideals.