Who Is Maud Dixon?

Florence Darrow and her friend Lucy arrive at a holiday publishing party in New York City. Florence is an editorial assistant at Forrester Books. Florence overhears a junior editor named Amanda Lincoln calling a man a misogynist for thinking that Maud Dixon is a man. Maud Dixon is the pseudonym of the author of a debut novel called Mississippi Foxtrot that came out several years earlier. The novel follows two teenage girls named Ruby and Maud, who leave their hometown in Mississippi to escape their past. The novel culminates in Maud killing a man who pursues Ruby, who is only 16 years old. Despite the popularity of the novel in literary circles, Maud Dixon has never revealed her identity, or whether the novel contains references to true events.

Amanda says that Maud Dixon is a woman because of the compelling way she writes female characters. Florence says that she does not think it matters if Dixon is a man or a woman. Amanda scoffs at Florence because she thinks it is obvious why it matters, and Florence feels embarrassed. Amanda tells Florence that she would understand if she were a writer. Florence feels too ashamed to tell Amanda that she wants to be a writer but has yet to publish something. Florence’s editorial director, Simon Reed, tells Florence that he agrees with her perspective.

Florence feels Simon watching her for the rest of the night, and she enjoys the attention, even though he is an older man. She knows that Simon is married to the actor Ingrid Thorne, and so she feels flattered by his flirtation. When Florence leaves, Simon chases her down, asking her for one more drink.

Simon takes Florence to a bar, and she teases him about people finding out about them. After a while, they go to a motel and sleep together.

Florence wakes up alone in the motel room. She goes back to her apartment in Astoria. Florence thinks about how different Simon’s world is from her own. Florence’s mother Vera calls. Vera reminds her not to settle because she is better than that, and Florence agrees. Florence hates how Vera thinks she is always the best at everything because it makes her feel insignificant. Vera became pregnant with Florence at a young age and a pastor told her that her child was destined for greatness. Ever since, Florence has felt like she has had to live up to God’s divine plan for her life, yet she feels that she is always falling short.

During her break the next day, Simon apologizes to Florence. Afterward, Florence realizes that she enjoyed Simon’s interest.

Florence does not go home for Christmas. Vera calls and tells her that she ran into Florence’s high school boyfriend Trevor, and that she thinks that Florence should call him. Florence faces writer’s block over the holiday break.

Even though Florence thought that she would thrive in New York, she finds the other assistants and the editors intimidating. Florence finds herself trying to reinvent herself, but she does not know what kind of personality she wants to have.

Florence runs an errand for her boss Agatha, and she passes the school that Simon’s children attend. Florence stays at work late, and Simon calls, asking her to come to the Bowery Hotel to meet him. Florence waits for him in the hotel room, but Simon calls to cancel because Ingrid’s father died suddenly.

Florence spends the night in the hotel and walks to work the next morning. She passes the school again, and she recognizes Simon’s daughters Chloe and Tabitha outside. Florence uses her iPhone to watch the girls and then takes pictures of them.

In February, Florence sees Ingrid pick the children up to take them to a dentist’s appointment. She follows them to the office and goes inside, watching them while they wait. Afterward, Florence walks back to work, although she realizes that she has lost her passion for being an assistant. Florence hoped that the job would lead to writing opportunities, but she does not think she can wait for a writing opportunity to happen anymore.

A few weeks later, Simon and Ingrid get into the elevator at work with Florence. Simon introduces Florence to Ingrid. Simon explains that Ingrid wants to speak to Amanda about producing her manuscript for a film. Simon says that Amanda sold her first novel, and Ingrid gushes about it.

Florence finds a copy of Amanda’s manuscript from one of the assistants. Florence reads the manuscript and hates it because it is good. Florence feels that she has been working her whole life toward being a novelist, and she is nowhere near as close as Amanda because of Amanda’s privileges.

Suddenly, Florence realizes the power of sleeping with Simon, believing that he must publish her work for fear of her exposing their affair. The next day she hands a manuscript to Simon, who tells her that he will look at it. On Monday, Simon emails her, telling her that she has talent, but that she needs to find a compelling story to write before he can publish her.

Florence sits with her feet out her bedroom window, drunkenly scrolling through the pictures of Chloe, Tabitha, and Ingrid on her phone. Florence decides to teach Simon a lesson and emails the pictures of his family to him.

On her way to work, Florence knows that Simon will be upset about the email. She receives a voicemail from HR when she gets to her office. A few days later, she is fired from her job, and Simon and Ingrid have filed a restraining order against her.

Florence sends out her work to every publishing agency she can find. A few weeks later, she receives a call from Greta Frost at Frost/Bollen. Greta explains that she enjoyed her work, but that she wants Florence to apply to be an assistant for Maud Dixon. Florence agrees, and Greta tells her that if she gets the job, she will need to sign an NDA that will prevent her from revealing Maud Dixon’s identity, or that she ever worked with Maud Dixon. Greta explains that if she gets the job, she will also need to move into Maud Dixon’s home to live with her. Florence sends Greta her CV and the next day she schedules a video call with Maud Dixon.

During the interview video call, Maud Dixon keeps her camera off to preserve her anonymity. Maud does not ask Florence many questions, other than to ask about her ability to do menial tasks. Florence promises not to reveal her identity and insists that she would love to work with her.

The next morning, Greta offers her the job. Florence can hardly believe that she is lucky enough to work with Maud. She thinks that Maud must have seen something special in her.