The Golden Couple

The book opens with Avery’s point of view, told in the first person. Avery, a therapist, has been contacted by a new client, Marissa Bishop. Avery is meeting with Marissa and Marissa’s husband, Matthew Bishop, for the first time. Marissa and Matthew have one son, Bennett. Avery asks why the couple is seeking therapy. Marissa has something to confess to Matthew, but she’s nervous. When Avery asks if Marissa wants water, Marissa jokingly asks if Avery has something stronger. Avery replies by offering them tequila; they all take a shot. Marissa then goes into “The Confession”: “I slept with someone […]. Just once” (8).

Following Marissa’s confession, Avery observes the couple’s reactions: Matthew is angry, while Marissa seems afraid. Avery theorizes that there are more issues in the marriage beyond infidelity and is intrigued by the Bishops. Avery decides to take the Bishops on as clients. Her 10-step process is revealed: “The Confession,” “Disruption,” “Escalation,” “Revelation,” “Devastation,” “Confrontation,” “Exposure,” “The Test,” “Reconciliation,” “Promises.”

In this chapter, Marissa says that the man she slept with is someone from her gym—this will turn out to be a lie, although this isn’t yet evident to Avery or the reader. Marissa actually slept with a close friend of hers and Matthew’s, someone they’ve known since their teenage years. It will turn out that Matthew actually already knows of Marissa’s infidelity and is plotting his revenge. His surprised reaction in Avery’s office is a ploy.

The narrative continues Matthew and Marissa’s meeting with Avery, but shifts to Marissa’s point of view, told from the third person. Avery asks Marissa to reflect on a favorite past moment with Matthew. When Marissa starts to tell a story about a lavish night out, Avery cuts her off: “That’s an Instagram post. Give me something real” (14). Marissa flinches in response, and the narrative reveals that “Avery has cut to the core of what their marriage has become: curated moments served up in public, while in private the emptiness between them slowly expands” (15).

Avery then asks Matthew to share a memory of steamy sex—not with Marissa, but with another woman. Avery explains, “Your mind is being flooded with ugly images right now. You’re imagining your wife with another man. So, let’s have her think about you with another woman” (16). The session ends, and a second appointment is set up. This time, Avery will go to the Bishops’ home for their session.

The narrative returns to Avery’s first-person point of view. She’s driving home from Derrick’s; Derrick is a 26-year-old guy whom Avery is casually seeing. When Avery gets to her house, she notices that it's darker than it should be—the light in the front hall that’s usually on is off. She proceeds with caution, worried that someone may be in the house. It turns out that the bulb simply burned out: “Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one, but I can no longer risk making those kinds of assumptions” (22).

Avery gets a text message from Cameron, a client of hers whom she helped to leave Skylar, a controlling, narcissistic wife. Skylar has tried to kill herself, and Cameron is distressed. Avery goes to the hospital, where she determines that Skylar’s suicide attempt was not “a cry for help” but “an attempt to retain some control over Cameron” (24). It’s revealed that Skylar is the reason that Avery lost her professional license: Avery snuck into Skylar and Cameron’s home and hid in the closet to record footage of Skylar berating Cameron. Skylar found out and reported Avery. Now, Avery can still offer her 10-step sessions, but she can’t label herself as an officially licensed psychiatrist, therapist, or counselor. She labels herself a consultant.

The narrative shifts to Marissa’s point of view. She’s preparing breakfast and helping Bennett get ready for school. Matthew has barely been home since the first therapy session. Marissa goes to the boutique that she owns, Coco, a place where she finds respite: “The landscape of her personal life is jagged and frayed, but all the pieces in this intimate, elegant space are in place” (31). The one disturbance is Marissa’s only employee, Polly, who is overly eager and talkative while Marissa just wants to be left in peace. Marissa notices that Polly is wearing Marissa’s earrings. Polly says that she noticed that Marissa lost the earrings and that she was worried they’d get lost, so she wore them for safekeeping. Marissa goes to the back room of the store to be alone; she gets a text message from the man she slept with: “You doing ok? I know I shouldn’t say this, but I can’t stop thinking about our night” (34). Marissa doesn’t reply; she notes that he shouldn’t be writing to her, yet “something unexpected is woven into Marissa’s shame and regret—a deep thread of warmth that comes from the sensation of feeling cherished” (34).

The narrative shifts back to Avery’s first-person point of view. She’s walking a dog, Romeo—she volunteers to do this for the local animal shelter. Avery decides to adopt Romeo. She then goes home, where she finds her stepdaughter, Lana, waiting for her. Avery was previously married to a man named Paul, who died after battling a brain tumor eight months earlier. By the time Paul’s illness was discovered, Avery had been planning on leaving him—but she decided to stay once the tumor was diagnosed. Lana and Avery always had a good relationship and still do. Lana tells Avery that she has a new boyfriend, Greg. Avery is eager to meet Greg, noting internally that Lana has made questionable choices in romantic partners in the past.

The narrative shifts to Marissa’s third-person perspective. It’s the day of Marissa and Matthew’s second session with Avery. Marissa is apprehensive. It’s revealed that Marissa’s confession in the first therapy session with Matthew and Avery was incomplete: “It was a partial confession, though. She hasn’t told Matthew everything. She can’t” (50). Avery arrives, and they start the session. Avery examines the various family photos in the home, including one of Marissa and Matthew as teenagers from the summer that they met. Internally, Marissa reflects back to when she met Matthew: “She hadn’t realized how much she’d needed that strong, solid arm around her. It steadied her at a time when the world seemed filled with dangerous, steeply pitched terrain. Earlier that summer, Marissa’s beloved best friend from childhood, Tina, had died” (53).

Later, it will be revealed that the man with whom Marissa slept isn’t a random person from the gym but a close friend of hers and Matthew’s. Further, it will be revealed that Matthew is the person who killed Tina that summer.

The narrative shifts to Avery’s first-person point of view as she begins the session with Matthew and Marissa. Matthew’s and Marissa’s families come up in the conversation. Marissa’s parents are happily married. However, Matthew’s mother is dead and his relationship with his father isn’t good; the Bishops only maintain a link to Matthew’s father for Bennett’s sake. In the course of the second therapy session, a woman named Natalie comes up; she’s a real-estate agent and a mother at Bennett’s school—and an ex of Matthews. Avery suspects that Natalie may have a crush on Matthew and warns Marissa to beware of Natalie. Also, during the therapy session, flowers are sent to the Bishops’ home for Marissa, with no card attached. Matthew angrily suggests, “Maybe it’s your friend from the gym” (63).

Avery leaves the Bishops and goes home. She has a lot of security around her home. It’s revealed that a former client of hers, Finley Jones, worked for a pharmaceutical company, Acelia. Finley learned that her company was preparing to launch a drug to the market—a migraine mediation called Rivanux—that was in fact very dangerous and could kill people. When Finley first told Avery about it, Avery thought that Finley was paranoid or delusional. However, it turned out Finley’s story was true. Finley was too afraid to report her company, so Avery gave a tip to the FDA’s anonymous whistleblower hotline. Since then, Avery has been harassed by the Acelia—they want to know who told Avery about the Rivanux scandal. Avery had the security systems in her home set up shortly after Acelia first started harassing her. This is how Avery met her casual fling, Derrick—he works for the security company and was the one who set up Avery’s home-security system.

The anonymous flowers that are sent to the Bishops’ home during their second session with Avery are actually from Matthew. This is only revealed later in the book. It’s part of Matthew’s plan to both make Marissa suffer for her betrayal and set Skip up as an obsessive lover, capable of killing Marissa and Matthew.