Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual violence and harassment, substance use, sexual content, and cursing.

Lottie Forest, a woman in her twenties, is a house cleaner for a billionaire duke named Oliver “Ollie” Harding. She cleans the Harding mansion with gusto, but today, her younger half-sister, Hayley, comes along in secret. Hayley is eight years old and has a stomachache that prevents her from going to school. Hayley also has selective mutism; she only speaks to Lottie when they’re alone, otherwise using sign language and other forms of nonverbal communication.

Lottie is attracted to Ollie. They’ve had a few positive interactions, but she stays mostly isolated as a staff member. The two play an ongoing game of chess, each moving their pieces only when the other isn’t around. Lottie usually wins, but Ollie does not know that Lottie is his opponent.

Lottie hides Hayley in the library—although she’s worried that if someone finds out, she will lose this job that she desperately needs. After hiding Hayley among the books, she spots Ollie and trips down the staircase.