Felicity Woollaston works alone from her small, old-fashioned office above a travel agent in Letchworth Garden City. Although money has recently started pouring in, Felicity has not expanded, because she prefers her familiar routines and trusts no one enough to hire. After nearly forty years as a modest agent for fading local media personalities, Felicity had been close to retirement, especially because work had thinned out and her personal life had narrowed after the deaths of her accountant and husband.

Felicity reflects on the kind of hands-on representation she used to provide for clients such as Sue Chambers, Alan Baxter, Malcolm Carnegie, Miriam, and a disgraced ventriloquist. Her business had long been small and personal, built on showing up for clients and maintaining relationships. That old model was interrupted when an unknown woman in a green trouser suit visited the office and explained a new world of influencers and brand management that Felicity barely understood.

The turning point came when the woman offered Felicity a great deal of money. After that, Felicity Woollaston Associates was effectively turned into Vivid Viral Media Agency. Bills and invoices under many company names began arriving for Felicity to forward, and substantial monthly payments began appearing in her account, even though Felicity was doing very little beyond acting as a respectable front. She was told that her name and reputation mattered, and she accepted the arrangement despite not fully grasping it.

In the present, Felicity continues to perform simple tasks within this strange business. She forwards an email from Bonnie Gregor, a young home-inspiration influencer, and notices how little she understands this new industry. When Felicity tried to research Vivid Viral Media Agency, she found almost nothing except her own contact details, which quietly deepens her unease.

Even so, Felicity carries on with normal agency work, booking Sue Chambers for a television clip show and Alan Baxter for a GB News appearance. At the same time, her office fills with crates of promotional products such as lip gel, protein balls, and energy drinks, visible signs of a business that feels increasingly unreal to her. Felicity briefly considers asking harder questions about the money and the post, but chooses instead to focus on lunch, postponing her doubts.