Nisha is a young woman of color whose life hasn't quite gotten off the ground. She goes to the home of her old family friends, the Striker family, looking for work after her mother falls ill. She wants to be the walker for their Afghan dog, Admiral. However, the dog that currently lives with the Strikers isn't Admiral, as he died at a dog park under mysterious circumstances. The Strikers cloned him and made another dog they call Admiral II, or sometimes just Admiral. Nisha's grateful for the job, as the Strikers will pay her $25 an hour plus benefits to spend ten hours a day with their dog. Nisha tries to reconnect with the Strikers, as she used to walk Admiral when she was in high school, but they aren't interested in talking to her. They ask that Nisha work there for four years, walking Admiral in the same way she used to, playing with the same toys, going to the same places, wearing the same clothes even, so that they can have the exact same dog again. Except now, unlike four years ago, the Strikers have a live-in maid who is around the same age as Nisha, another woman of color named Frankie. Initially, Frankie doesn't like Nisha or Admiral, but the two women establish boundaries and begin a sort of friendship. They help each other out around the house and waste time sitting by the pool and playing with the dog. One day, a journalist interviews Nisha while she's walking Admiral. This isn't out of the ordinary, as many reporters have interviewed the Strikers and Nisha about their quarter-million-dollar clone dog. The reporter, Erhard, asks increasingly probing questions before finally lecturing Nisha on the torture involved in making a clone. Nisha discovers that he's an animal rights activist but still claims to be a journalist too. They make out, and he talks her into a vague rebellious plan. Erhard becomes a staple of the Strikers' home, sleeping with Nisha most days and hanging around the pool or dog park with her and Admiral and Frankie. One day, Erhard brings another identical Afghan puppy to the house, hoping to switch them and write a story about how the owners didn't notice he was switched, proving that the torturous process of animal cloning was pointless as they can't recognize a cloned dog anyway. But, the moment he tries to switch them, the Strikers come home early. In the chaos, they lose track of which dog is which. The Strikers fall for the simple ruse that Nisha and Erhard make up, and he walks off with a dog. Nisha never sees Erhard again, and from that moment on goes to absolute extremes to make Admiral eat his poop and run in front of cars, trying to get him killed.