In Montréal in the dead of winter, Felicity Sinclair and her 16-year-old daughter Fern are all each other have in the world. When not in school, Fern largely tends to issues around their apartment while Felicity works one cleaning job after another. When Felicity dies of a sudden heart attack en route to the hospital, Fern believes her worst fate would be to come under the control of Youth Protective Services. In the short term, while evading the social workers, Fern takes over Felicity's cleaning jobs, as she had done in the past when Felicity indisposed. At one of those jobs, Fern comes across a self-help book and reads it. Determined not to end up on the same path as her mother, Fern believes she can not only make it on her own, but she can actually become a millionaire: the key is to save whatever money she can earn. Largely bluffing along the way--not mentioning Felicity's passing or that she herself is still a minor, not being truthful about her skills, and/or not using her real name--Fern is able to get two jobs: doing custodial work at an apartment complex, and washing dishes at a restaurant. With a "free" roof over her head with the apartment job and meals provided with the restaurant job, Fern believes she need only get one more job, the money from which she can solely put toward savings while she dumpster-dives for other odds and ends to furnish her new apartment. Beyond certain issues like dealing with Mrs. Coleville, whom she believes is only in her life to make it miserable, and someone from her distant past emerging, how long will Fern be able to keep her fragile house of cards intact, and how will she emerge from the other side when it crumbles?
—Huggo