1. Arrival in a New World

Anna Byrne, a working-class American, lands in London in 2009, determined to build a new life. She's on a student visa, scraping by as a grad student at Queen Mary University, teaching SAT prep to wealthy British teens, and bartending at night. London is both a dream and a challenge: she's enchanted by its history and culture, but constantly aware of her precarious finances and outsider status. Anna's journey is driven by the hope that London can offer her all that life can afford—if she can find a way to belong.

2. Scrappy Survival in London

Anna's days are a blur of train rides, tutoring sessions, and classes. She's haunted by her mother's early death from diabetes and the poverty that shaped her childhood. Her resourcefulness is tested as she dodges train fares, juggles jobs, and navigates the city's social hierarchies. Anna's American optimism collides with British class consciousness, and she's acutely aware of the gap between her dreams and her reality. Yet, she finds moments of joy in London's parks, libraries, and fleeting connections.

3. Teaching the Privileged Elite

Through her tutoring job, Anna is thrust into the homes of London's elite—polished, historic, and intimidating. She's both fascinated and alienated by their wealth, observing the loneliness and pressures faced by her privileged students. Anna's own background is a secret she guards closely, using her outsider perspective to connect with students who feel unseen by their own families. The contrast between her life and theirs is stark, fueling both envy and empathy.

4. Friendships and Class Divides

Anna's closest friends are Andre, her working-class British flatmate, and Liv, a fellow American tutor. Together, they share the struggles of making ends meet and the guilty pleasure of watching reality TV about the rich. Their camaraderie is a lifeline, but Anna's ambition sometimes distances her from them. The trio's walks through London's parks and neighborhoods highlight the city's deep class divisions and the longing for a sense of home.

5. The Allure of Wealth

A chance assignment brings Anna to the Savoy Hotel, where she tutors Pippa, a witty, privileged teenager. The Wilders, Pippa's family, are cosmopolitan and welcoming, offering Anna a glimpse of a life she's never known. When invited to tutor Pippa at their villa in Saint-Tropez over the holidays, Anna faces a moral and professional dilemma: accept the lucrative, under-the-table job and risk her main employer's wrath, or play it safe and stay in London. The temptation of comfort and belonging proves irresistible.

6. Pippa and the Savoy Suite

Anna's sessions with Pippa are both challenging and rewarding. Pippa is sharp, funny, and a master of distraction, but Anna's warmth and relatability win her over. The Savoy's opulence is intoxicating, and Anna is drawn into the rhythms of the Wilders' privileged life. She's aware of the boundaries—she's staff, not family—but the lines blur as she becomes a trusted confidante and mentor to Pippa.

7. Invitations and Dilemmas

Pippa and her mother invite Anna to spend a month in Saint-Tropez, tutoring over the holidays. The offer is a financial windfall and a chance to escape her struggles in London. Anna agonizes over the risk—violating her tutoring contract and potentially losing her main source of income. Encouraged by Liv, she decides to seize the opportunity, rationalizing that she deserves a break from constant scarcity.

8. Saint-Tropez: A Dream Realized

In Saint-Tropez, Anna is immersed in luxury: a villa on a hill, gourmet meals, and a cast of glamorous characters—Pippa's enigmatic sister Faye, their friends, and the charming Callum. Anna is both dazzled and uneasy, aware that she's living someone else's life. She navigates the social codes of the ultra-wealthy, borrowing clothes and manners, and is swept up in parties, yacht outings, and the intoxicating freedom of being unburdened by money worries.

9. The Wilders' World

The Wilders' family dynamics are complex: Pippa's ambition, Faye's aloofness, and the parents' cosmopolitan detachment. Anna sees the loneliness and pressures beneath the surface, especially in Faye, who both befriends and undermines her. Anna's outsider status is both a shield and a vulnerability—she's valued for her difference, but always at risk of being exposed as an imposter.

10. Callum's Complications

Callum, a friend of the Wilders, is intelligent, reserved, and perceptive. He and Anna share a mutual attraction, but both are wary—Anna because of her precarious position, Callum because of his own complicated history with privilege and belonging. Their relationship is marked by moments of intimacy and misunderstanding, culminating in a night stranded together that reveals their vulnerabilities. Callum becomes both a confidant and a mirror for Anna's struggles with authenticity.

11. New Year's Revelations

At the Wilders' lavish New Year's Eve party, Anna is swept up in the magic—dancing, fireworks, and a midnight kiss with Theo, a charismatic friend of Faye's. The night is a high point, but also a turning point: Anna is acutely aware of the performance required to maintain her place in this world. The boundaries between staff and guest, friend and lover, are blurred, and Anna's sense of self becomes increasingly fragile.

12. The Highgate Transformation

Back in London, Anna is offered the chance to house-sit the Wilders' Highgate home. She moves into a new social circle, borrowing Faye's clothes and adopting the trappings of affluence. Her relationship with Theo intensifies, and she's welcomed by his friends, including the literary Tess. Anna's double life—tutor and socialite—becomes more elaborate, and the pressure to maintain her façade grows.

13. Living a Double Life

Anna's success as a private tutor grows, but so does her deception. She hides her true background from her new friends, omits details about her work, and relies on borrowed clothes and addresses. The tension between her authentic self and her constructed persona becomes unbearable. She distances herself from Andre and Liv, the friends who know the real Anna, and becomes increasingly isolated.

14. The Cost of Pretending

A series of financial and personal crises converge: a forgotten council tax bill threatens her old flatmates with eviction, a school refuses to pay her for teaching, and her relationship with Theo is revealed to be built on secrets. At a high-society party, Faye publicly exposes Anna's lies—her borrowed clothes, her true status as staff, and her deception of their friends. Anna is humiliated, ostracized, and forced to leave the Highgate house.

15. Collapse and Consequence

Homeless and nearly penniless, Anna moves in with Liv, seeking forgiveness from the friends she abandoned. She's fired from her tutoring agency, blacklisted by schools, and threatened with legal action by the Wilders. Her dreams of staying in London are in jeopardy, as she struggles to pay her tuition and faces the possibility of deportation. Anna is forced to confront the harm her actions have caused—to herself and others.

16. Reckoning and Repair

Determined to make amends, Anna reconnects with Andre and Liv, owning up to her mistakes and rebuilding trust. She works menial jobs, chases down unpaid wages, and appeals to her university for leniency. Callum, despite their complicated history, helps her draft a legal letter to recover her pay from the school that stiffed her. Anna begins to accept that authenticity and humility are more valuable than belonging at any cost.

17. Rediscovering Authenticity

Anna's journey comes full circle as she embraces her true self—her working-class roots, her resilience, and her love of literature. She applies for a job at the British Library, drawing on her experiences as both an outsider and an educator. Her dissertation, focused on novels about outsiders and belonging, becomes a metaphor for her own life. Anna's relationships with her friends and with Callum deepen, grounded in honesty and mutual respect.

18. A Place to Belong

Anna is offered a permanent job at the British Library, secures her visa, and moves into a new flat with Liv and Andre. Her relationship with Callum blossoms, and she finds joy in the ordinary rhythms of work, friendship, and love. Anna's journey is not about achieving wealth or status, but about finding a place where she can be herself—flawed, hopeful, and whole. The novel ends with Anna looking forward to the future, grateful for the hard-won sense of belonging she has created.

Characters

Anna Byrne

Anna is the heart of the novel—a young American woman shaped by poverty, loss, and ambition. Her mother's early death and her father's emotional distance drive her to seek a new life in London, where she hopes to escape her past and reinvent herself. Anna is intelligent, resourceful, and deeply empathetic, but also prone to self-doubt and self-sabotage. Her journey is one of self-discovery, as she learns that authenticity and connection matter more than status or appearances. Anna's relationships—with her students, friends, and lovers—reveal her longing for acceptance and her fear of being unworthy. Her greatest growth comes when she embraces her true self and finds belonging on her own terms.

Callum

Callum is a British-Portuguese law student and friend of the Wilders, marked by his intelligence, reserve, and quiet integrity. He is both attracted to and wary of Anna, recognizing in her a kindred spirit struggling with issues of class and identity. Callum's own background—straddling privilege and outsider status—makes him uniquely able to understand Anna's dilemmas. He challenges her to be honest, supports her through crises, and ultimately becomes her partner in building a life rooted in authenticity. Callum's development is subtle but profound: he moves from detachment to vulnerability, learning to risk his own heart.

Pippa Wilder

Pippa is Anna's most memorable student—a sharp, funny, and privileged teenager who is both a product and a critic of her environment. She is alternately bratty and vulnerable, using humor and deflection to mask her insecurities. Pippa's relationship with Anna is transformative for both: Anna becomes a mentor and surrogate older sister, while Pippa offers Anna a window into the world of the elite. Pippa's loyalty and insight are crucial in the novel's later crises, and her growth mirrors Anna's in learning to navigate privilege with empathy.

Faye Wilder

Faye, Pippa's older sister, is a magnetic and enigmatic figure—beautiful, privileged, and skilled at controlling her environment. She befriends Anna but also undermines her, both fascinated by and threatened by Anna's difference. Faye's need for control and recognition drives much of the novel's conflict, culminating in her public exposure of Anna's lies. Faye embodies the seductive but dangerous allure of privilege, and her relationship with Anna is a study in power, envy, and the limits of empathy.

Theo

Theo is a charismatic, well-connected friend of Faye's who becomes Anna's lover. He is generous, attentive, and fun, but ultimately shallow—more invested in appearances and convenience than in real intimacy. Theo's relationship with Anna is passionate but transactional, and his divided loyalties (especially with Faye) reveal the limitations of charm without substance. Theo serves as a foil to Callum, highlighting the difference between surface-level belonging and genuine connection.

Liv

Liv is Anna's closest female friend in London—a fellow American tutor, the daughter of South Indian immigrants, and a model of calm competence. Liv is supportive, practical, and unafraid to challenge Anna when she strays. Her friendship is a source of stability and perspective, reminding Anna of her roots and values. Liv's own experiences as an outsider enrich the novel's exploration of identity and belonging.

Andre

Andre is Anna's British flatmate and confidant, a working-class scholarship kid who shares her sense of being an imposter among the elite. He is sharp, funny, and loyal, providing comic relief and emotional support. Andre's struggles with class and acceptance mirror Anna's, and their friendship is a touchstone throughout the novel. His eventual hurt at Anna's distancing is a catalyst for her reckoning and growth.

Tess

Tess is a member of Anna's new Highgate circle—a literature graduate, warm and enthusiastic, but also marked by her own insecurities about class and belonging. Tess becomes a close friend and intellectual companion, encouraging Anna's academic ambitions and offering a model of generosity. Her eventual sense of betrayal at Anna's deception is a painful but necessary lesson in the costs of dishonesty.

The Wilders (Mrs. and Mr. Wilder)

Pippa and Faye's parents are emblematic of the global elite—charming, generous, and emotionally distant. They offer Anna opportunities and support, but their world is ultimately closed to outsiders. Their decision to pursue legal action against Anna is both a betrayal and a reflection of the impersonal logic of privilege.

Anna's Mother

Though deceased, Anna's mother is a constant influence—her warmth, sacrifices, and dreams for Anna shape the protagonist's values and aspirations. The memory of her mother's struggles and love is both a source of pain and a wellspring of resilience, guiding Anna toward a more authentic and compassionate life.

Plot Devices

Outsider Perspective and Imposter Syndrome

The novel's structure is built around Anna's experience as an outsider—her acute awareness of class, money, and belonging. Her imposter syndrome is both a source of tension and a lens for exploring the hidden rules of privilege. The narrative uses Anna's perspective to expose the costs of assimilation and the dangers of self-erasure.

Double Life and Deception

Anna's double life—tutor and socialite, working-class and affluent—creates dramatic irony and escalating stakes. Her lies and omissions are both survival strategies and self-destructive impulses. The tension between authenticity and performance is heightened by foreshadowing (e.g., Anna's anxiety about being exposed) and by the eventual public unmasking at the party.

Social Mobility and Class Satire

The novel uses Anna's journey to satirize the British class system and the global elite, while also humanizing its characters. The contrast between Anna's scrappy resourcefulness and the effortless entitlement of her students and friends is both comic and poignant. The narrative structure alternates between scenes of luxury and scenes of struggle, highlighting the costs and illusions of social mobility.

Bildungsroman and Self-Discovery

The story follows the arc of a bildungsroman: Anna's journey from naïve ambition to hard-won self-acceptance. Key plot points—her mother's death, her betrayals and losses, her academic and professional achievements—are milestones in her development. The use of literary allusions (Austen, Forster, Wharton, James) provides both thematic resonance and a meta-commentary on Anna's own story.

Redemption and Reconciliation

After her fall from grace, Anna's efforts to make amends—with friends, employers, and herself—drive the final act. The narrative uses letters, apologies, and acts of service to dramatize the process of redemption. The resolution is not a return to the fantasy of belonging, but the creation of a new, authentic community.

Analysis

All That Life Can Afford is a sharp, empathetic exploration of what it means to be an outsider in a world obsessed with status and appearances. Through Anna's journey, the novel interrogates the costs of assimilation and the dangers of self-betrayal. It exposes the seductive allure of privilege, but also its emptiness and fragility. The story is both a satire of the global elite and a compassionate portrait of those who long to belong. Everett's narrative is rich with literary allusion, using the tradition of the outsider novel to frame Anna's struggles and growth. The ultimate lesson is that true belonging cannot be bought, borrowed, or performed—it must be built through honesty, humility, and connection. The novel's ending, with Anna finding a home among friends and meaningful work, is both realistic and hopeful: a reminder that all that life can afford is not luxury, but love, purpose, and the courage to be oneself.

Last updated: April 28, 2025