A bunch of smart women plot to get the goods on their boss at Boston's venerable Animal Protection Organization. Hal Mason is Brad Pitt-handsome, with a Harvard professor wife and an adorable but shiftless son who wins the heart of Diane Salvi, the organization's new communications director and the book's narrator. When Diane lands the job of her dreams, she's impressed with her new boss, but soon learns that Hal has managed to earn the adulation of the organization's board of director and the scorn of his staff. As Diane's suspicions about Hal mount, she enlists some friends in the office, along with her reporter roommate, to investigate if he's just plain annoying or much, much worse. Diane's journey is one of a young woman's drive to create a fulfilling life as she navigates the vagaries of the workplace and tries to find love, all while holding onto her principles.