Eleanor Oliphant, the narrator and protagonist of the story, introduces herself as a woman who works in an office. Her boss, Bob, hired Eleanor nine years ago as a finance clerk at a graphic design firm called By Design. Eleanor’s Friday ritual includes store-bought Margherita pizza, a bottle of wine, and two bottles of vodka that she drinks over the course of each weekend. She does not speak with her coworkers, her home phone does not ring, and she has never hosted a guest at her apartment.

Eleanor visits a young red-headed doctor to alleviate alleged back pain caused by her breasts. The doctor distractedly prescribes Eleanor painkillers and eczema medication while Eleanor makes jokes about weighing her breasts with her kitchen scale.

The previous evening, Eleanor attended a concert with a reluctant coworker and noticed a singer named Johnnie Lomond. Johnnie attracts Eleanor’s eye not only for his handsome face but also because the bottom button of his waistcoat is unbuttoned, which her mother calls the mark of a gentleman and suitable romantic partner. Eleanor concludes, “Mummy was going to be thrilled” (8).