Janet Moore is a mid-career academic at a New England college who loses sleep over a disquieting poem, a lackluster husband, and an emotionally distant young son. She reflects on the anti-woman bias she must face daily at her institution as she confronts frat boy Jamie Cox for plagiarizing an essay. When Jamie's confronted with irrefutable evidence of his transgression, Jamie's callousness triggers Janet's memory of her time at graduate school at a university in the Southwest.

Ten years earlier, Janet had an essay review conference with Marcus Bellamy, a renowned professor of the humanities. He meets her in his office and quickly points out the 'misgivings' he has about her essay despite its technical flawlessness. Janet had been taken aback by his dismissal of her defense of her work and his probing into her personal life.

In the present day, Janet runs into her friend and colleague Tony Hope at the local bar on campus. The two discuss plans for Thanksgiving. Janet is dreading having to spend time during the holiday with her husband Robbie and her son Marcus, who, due to an emotional disability, only shows affection for his father. The duo met with Tom Newhouse, an aging English professor infamous on campus for sexual misconduct. Tom and Tony exchange suggestive remarks about Janet, and Tom praises the work of his student, the frat boy Jamie Cox. Janet suggests that this praise is unfounded, to which Tom is incredulous.

Flashing back to the meeting with Bellamy, Janet recalls that she had been assigned two readings: one of Bellamy's own work and that of a female professor, which is supposedly inferior. The perceived misogynistic undertones of the assignment had been off-putting to Janet, who feels that as a Black man, Bellamy should know better than to make prejudiced assumptions about academic skill. Janet had left Bellamy's office and made her way to her parked car when she was startled by a man flailing about and yelling next to Bellamy's convertible. Upon further inspection, Janet realizes that he is a blind man in need of assistance. Still, her initial impression of danger prevents her from helping. As she tried to drive out of the parking lot, Bellamy had her give the blind man a ride, which had diffused the anger she harbored against Bellamy and led her to question her initial impression of him.

In the present day, after arriving home, Janet and Robbie argue, causing Janet to return to the bar, where she invites Tom to Thanksgiving dinner. While reflecting on her past and questioning her academic merits, Janet decides to finally read the two essays assigned to her ten years ago