LOUISA “LOU” CLAY (late 50s): Lou is an androgynous dandy from the South. She is normally quite polished in a suit and tie, with a perfect bobbed haircut and unlit cigar, which she wears in her suit’s breast pocket and habitually rolls between her fingers and pretends to puff. But when we meet her, she’s all that—and a bit disheveled. A few decades ago, Lou wrote a cult classic, feminist novel that recently debuted as a TV series—and it’s a massive hit. When the show premiered a few weeks earlier, Lou, who has always been publicity shy and is a loner to boot, decamped—alone—to her house in the country. RAMONA FRY (early 20s): Lou’s queer niece lives in Lou’s apartment in the city. Ramona, who also grew up in the South and sounds like it, is trying to make her own way in the world, although she worships her aunt and wants to be a famous writer—and consequential—like her. NELL RICHARDS (late 60s): Lou’s agent, friend and port in the storm. Lou has been with Nell, an old school and venerable force in the publishing world, since she published “the book” some 30 years ago. Nell and Ramona, however, clash, generationally and jealously as they vie for Lou’s loyalty and affection.