Throughout the book, the flow of time is non-linear, and the thoughts and emotions of the characters are often conveyed through the use of flashbacks, dreams, and stream of consciousness.
Frankie, a British trans woman that works at a gender identification clinic, is the survivor of a terrorist attack at her workplace.
Jennifer Caldwell, a famous children's author that has been cancelled for expressing gender critical views, has been invited as an honoured guest.
His mother reveals that she knew Xavier was attending the youth group behind her back, and she boasts that she blew up the gender identity clinic to stop him from transitioning.
As she sinks further into self-harm and suicidal ideation, a vodka billboard near Frankie’s flat featuring two trans women is set on fire.
After drunkenly wandering to Gaz’s house, Frankie realises that she would not be welcome, and walks to a seedy gay bar for casual sex.
Enraged that their offering is incapable of getting pregnant, Gaz tells the revellers to seize them, but Vanya and Frankie escape through a portal opened by Caldwell.
An enormous white worm erupts from her abdomen and ascends into the sky, “an enemy that humanity could be united in its stand against it.”[3] As Frankie lies dying on the beach, Vanya, ordered by Gaz to mother and nurse "The Great Oppressor" until it reaches maturity and can return back to England "with all the hate against the world that it could carry", comforts the worm, singing it a lullaby.
Real-world British newspapers such as The Times and The Guardian are mentioned throughout the text, as is their alleged complicity in providing a platform for transphobic bigotry.
[4][5][6] J. K. Rowling, an English author that publicly aligned herself with gender critical figures in the late 2010s,[7] shares several similarities with Jennifer Caldwell, the primary antagonist of the novel.
[12] Megan Milks of The New York Times reviewed the book positively, calling it "smart, seething social horror that is forthright in its use of fiction to react to real-world terrors.
"[14] Josh Hanson of FanFiAddict gave a critical review: "In the end, the allegory feels as weak as a biting internet comment, [...] and the ideas are finally not very interesting.