Three of the stories ("Chance", "Soon", and "Silence") are about a single character named "Juliet Henderson".

The first part comprises the diaries of Nancy, a self-centered young woman convinced that she is destined to have some great importance.

She startles the town doctor, Wilf, on April Fool's Day by pretending to have an illness; when she later tries to apologize to him, he unexpectedly proposes to her.

Wilf's cousin Ollie is in town to attend the ceremony, and Nancy becomes fascinated by his worldly affectations.

In an attempt to impress him, she takes Ollie to visit Tessa, a friend of hers that lives on the outskirts of town.

Tessa has psychic abilities that allow her to see through objects; she correctly identifies all of the items in Ollie's pockets.

Ollie seemingly dismisses her, but Nancy fears that he is hiding a deeper interest.

The facility is shutting down, but she has received a letter asking that she retrieve Tessa, who has lived there for some time.

Wilf has died from the complications of a stroke, and Nancy takes the opportunity to travel.

He says that funding for research disappeared after World War II, forcing him and Tessa to work on the vaudeville circuit.

The strain of performing gave Tessa horrible headaches and gradually eroded her powers, but she and he developed an intricate system with which to deceive their audiences.

Ollie, however, worries that Tessa can sense the papers in his front pocket, which will commit her to a mental hospital.

On Metacritic, the book received a 88 out of 100 based on twenty-seven critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

[4][5] The second, third and fourth stories in the book – "Chance", "Soon" and "Silence" – provided the basis for Pedro Almodóvar's screenplay for his 2016 film adaptation, Julieta.