A woman attending Columbia for graduate school is desperate for rent money during the stifling New York summer. After endless calls inquiring into positions that have already been filled, she happens upon one requesting a literature student to work for a Mr. Morning as a research assistant. When she gets to the address listed, Mr. Morning is evidently an eccentric older man, with a messy apartment. She introduces herself as Iris Davidsen, a pseudonym, and inquires about the work she will be doing. Morning explains that it all began three years ago, when a girl died. Morning came into possession of a few of her things, but he doesn't explain how to Iris. He wants Iris to do a series of recordings describing these belongings from a fresh perspective, which is why he refuses to give her information on the girl or her death. Though Iris is uncomfortable, she needs the money, so she does two recordings for him. At night, Iris thinks of her ex and the people in her building who are fighting or screaming all night long. In the first two weeks working for him, she observes his messy apartment and eccentricities, trying to snoop through his things while he listens to the recordings in another room. She pries him on the girl's story, and he tells Iris that if she knew the girl had died of leukemia or had been murdered in his building, it would change her recordings and not let her see the object for what it truly is. Finally, Iris's curiously overtakes her, and she must inquire about it. She goes to Morning's apartment, but speaks to the manager, pretending to be a prospective resident, asking about a death in the building. She finds out that a girl named Sherri had been stabbed to death while doing laundry, and her murderer was never found. Some suspected Morning, but nothing ever came of it. Finally, Iris confronts Morning asking him to give her the full details of why he's so invested, half expecting him to confess to her murder. Morning refuses to give any information, but still wants her to do the recordings, giving her a check addressed to her pseudonym and another box with an object inside. Though Iris initially agrees, outside his building, she resolves instead to tear up the check and throw it and the object in the trash.