Alissa Nutting is an assistant professor of English at Grinnell College. She is the author of the story collection UNCLEAN JOBS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS, as well as the novel TAMPA.
Hazel has moved into a trailer park of senior citizens after running out on her marriage to Byron Gogol. For over a decade, Hazel put up with being veritably quarantined by Byron in the family compound, her every movement and vital sign tracked. But when he demands to wirelessly connect the two of them via brain chips in a first-ever human “mind-meld,” Hazel decides what was once merely irritating has become unbearable. As she tries to carve out a new life for herself, Byron is using the most sophisticated tools at his disposal to find her and bring her home. Hazel is forced to take drastic measures in order to find a home of her own and free herself from Byron’s virtual clutches once and for all.