Sara is a young artist living in New York's East Village one summer. She's busy with her friends, parties, clubs and especially her unreliable boyfriend, Brett. Brett's nominally a musician, singing in a band, but mostly he's getting high, which doesn't leave a lot of room for Sara in his life. Sara knows this, but she can't help opening her door every time he knocks.

This novel is very much a product of the 1980s, in both the setting and in the way the book is structured. Written in brief segments, some only a sentence long, the novel presents itself as a series of snapshots, all from Sara's point of view. She ruminates over her life choices and her relationship with Brett, but never for long. She and her friends are reaching an age where their bohemian hand-to-mouth existence is losing its allure and they're losing faith that their art will propel them to fame. ( )