In a windowless office, women stand in a circle. One explains something from her real, nonwork life – about the frustration and indignity of returning an item she bought online. One wears a topknot. Another checks her pedometer.

Watching them all is Millie. Thirty years old and an eternal temp, she says almost nothing, almost all of the time.

But then the possibility of a permanent job arises. Will it bring the new life Millie is envisioning – one involving a gym membership, a book club, and a lot less beer and TV – finally within reach? Or will it reveal just how hollow that vision has become?