Florence Everleave, a middle-aged professional tennis player and college physical education instructor in Ohio, returns home after a summer tournament. She notices some crates on the porch that belong to her new tenant. She lives alone, but she rents out a portion of her house. Late that night, the tenant, a young economic history professor named Hector Ekstein, arrives and introduces himself. Florence notices how charismatic he is. Over the course of the fall semester, Dr. Ekstein becomes a sensation. Students flock to his lecutres and seek him out when not in class. Florence gets to know him a little better, finding that he keeps odd hours, preparing for lectures late into the night and drinking copious amounts of beer. Despite this, Florence admires Hector's dedication, seeing that his popularity is earned through hard work. Over the winter break, Hector goes to New York where he was originally from. Oddly, however, Florence hears sounds coming from his apartment. After hearing them several times, she investigates, finding two students hooking up. They say that Hector gave them his key and is allowing them to use his apartment, but Florence is still shocked. She confronts Hector as soon as he returns, saying it is inappropriate to let unmarried students sleep together under her roof. Hector does not understand what the big deal was, but he nonetheless obliges. In the new semester, Florence holds her fitness seminar in her personal basement gym, knowing that the class was small enough and that the facilities provided by the school will not be sufficient. Inspired by Florence, Hector decides to hold his seminar course at his apartment as well. These seminars often go late into the night, but they keep quiet enough that they don't bother Florence. At the end of March, the students vote for Chapel speakers, selecting five faculty members to give lectures on topics of their choosing to the entire university. This year, the student body elects Hector Ekstein by a landslide, a rare honor for a young, first-year lecturer. When Florence hears his lecture, she understands why he is so popular with the students. He speaks on humanity's loneliness, which Florence feels particularly moved by. Around this time, Florence becomes aware of the small revolution that Hector is leading at the university, calling for major reform to university policies. Florence herself is not that interested. Later that evening, Florence is waiting for her seminar students to arrive while she overhears some of Hector's seminar students through the walls. They can't find a bottle opener, so one suggests that someone go next door to ask Florence for one, but they are all reluctant. They proceed to make disparaging remarks about Florence, who is in her forties and had never married, suggesting that she is a lesbian. Florence expects Hector to chastise them, but instead he joins in. This greatly upsets Florence, and that night she drafts a letter to Hector, asking him to find a different place of residence. The following day, she concedes to allow him to stay for the remainder of the school year. As finals approach, Florence's yard becomes busier. Students visit Hector's apartment more frequently, engaging him in conversations much later into the night. Florence had trouble navigating through the bicycles they left in her yard, and she is kept up at night by their chatter as well. When someone leaks a department document stating that Hector's contract would not be renewed, Florence is not sure how to feel. She isn't a fan of Hector, but she recognizes his talent. The campus is abuzz from the news, and all Florence wants to do is ignore it. This is hard to do when crying students show up at her house. Hector's followers want him to fight for his position, but he understands that his time at the university is up. Students start initiatives to get the administration to change their minds, even asking for Florence to sign some petitions, but she doesn't get involved and the initiatives are ineffective. The night of Hector's departure, he visits Florence and asks her to drink with him as a farewell. Normally Florence doesn't drink, but she agrees, showing compassion for him. They have an awkward conversation in which Florence tries to console him, but Hector implies that Florence was one of the nay-sayers that are forcing him out. In an effort to reconcile, Florence tells Hector that his lecture was the best she had ever heard and offers him a bottle opener so that he'll never be without one again. When he leaves, Florence gets upset at herself for being so awkward and feels as lonely as ever.