Layla

The novel opens with Leeds’s first interview with UndercoverInc. In his first-person narration, Leeds says that he had to tie Layla to the bed in a room upstairs and put tape over her mouth to keep her quiet while he did the interview. The man asks him to start at the beginning. He tells the man that he met Layla when he was playing bass in a band for her sister’s wedding one year ago at the bed-and-breakfast where they are currently residing.

The first chapter is a flashback to when Leeds and Layla meet. Leeds is playing with a band that he does not like, and he is not enjoying himself until he sees a young woman dancing terribly in the crowd. He’s not sure if the bad dancing is ironic, but it makes him smile. He agrees to stay and have a drink with the wedding party in hopes that he will get to meet her.

Leeds then summarizes his backstory: He does not need the money from the band, because his father left enough for his mother and him to live on. This financial security contributes to his feeling of being lost or lacking