Sasha, the first-person narrator, embarks on a journey back to Paris after a period away in her native land of England. A middle-aged woman and an excessive drinker, Sasha begins the novel with a plan to maintain her composure but quickly struggles to overcome memories of the past. Sasha loses her grasp on reality as she continues to distract herself with new clothing and hair. She creates bonds with men she meets on the streets of Paris while, increasingly paranoid, she attempts to avoid the reprobation of strangers around her.

As she delves deeper into her relationships with Nicolas, Serge, and René, Sasha continues to numb herself from the trauma of her past. Once optimistic and eager to leave England, Sasha followed Enno throughout Europe before marrying him in The Hague. Sasha and Enno’s relationship quickly sours, and after the tragic loss of their child and Enno’s subsequent abandonment, Sasha is left to fend for herself and returns to England, where she resolves to drink herself to death. Now back in Paris for the last time, Sasha struggles to see if she can regain her lost sense of self. Unfortunately, she almost falls victim to René’s sexual aggression before distracting him with money and, ultimately, surrenders to an anonymous male force at the end of the novel.