44 pages 1 hour read

Lana Ferguson

The Nanny

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2003

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Chapters 1-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 Summary: “Cassie”

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses child neglect.

Cassie Evans details her nerves when making her first video for her account on OnlyFans, an online content subscription platform often used by sex workers. However, knowing that she is in control of her own choices and wearing a mask and a wig makes her feel secure and brave.

Years later, Cassie stresses about being able to pay for rent when she loses her job as a therapy assistant at a children’s hospital due to downsizing. She is a third-year graduate student studying occupational therapy, and she barely makes ends meet with her salary. Cassie complains to her next-door neighbor and best friend, Wanda Simmons, a 72-year-old woman who offers to let Cassie sleep on her couch while she looks for another job. Wanda suggests Cassie return to her old side hustle—OnlyFans. Though Cassie made good money from paid subscribers to her channel, she deleted her account years ago and does not want to restart it, saying that she learned a lesson from it.

As Cassie looks through job advertisements, she finds a listing for a live-in nanny position with great pay and emails the person who posted the ad.