The story follows an eighteen-year-old pyro who, after a fight with her father, goes to a bustling tavern and adopts the persona of a feelies star to attract attention. She meets a taciturn man who declares himself talentless and reveals he is a fugitive from a government preserve. Their encounter draws police scrutiny, exposing social tensions around talents, surveillance, and personal performance, while the narrator confronts fear, attraction, and the limits imposed by family and authority.