An unnamed American-Japanese woman moves from New York to work at the International Criminal Court as an interpreter. Filling in for an employee on maternity leave, she impulsively signs a one-year work contract. The woman leaves New York after the demise of her father and her mother's relocation to Singapore.
While working at the ICC, she meets Adriaan, a soon-to-be divorcee. They quickly grow on each other and a relationship ensues. Adriaan invites the woman to live long-term with him at his flat. He leaves the woman at the flat as he makes a trip to Lisbon to ask for divorce from his estranged wife.
Adriaan is taking longer than expected and doubt begins to creep into this uncertified relationship. Friends of Adriaan's wife begin to discredit the woman's claims that they are in a relationship. Adriaan is nowhere to be reached and when he is, he sounds distant and uninterested on the phone.
Jana is a Serbian-Ethiopian who works at the National Gallery. She is the woman's best friend and with time she gets dragged into another toxic encounters that will impact her life greatly. The woman gets involved with a man who was assaulted in a violent mugging. Their paths cross multiple times, which leads to the most gripping moments in the novel.
While all this is going on in her personal life, at work, the court has taken up a high profile case. The woman is mistakenly tasked with interpreting on behalf of the accused. The story takes an unpredictable turn that might have real-life consequences.
