The story begins with Lincoln feeling like he's somehow trespassing into his co-workers lives as the IT Security Office watchdog. His job requires him to monitor the email going in and out of the newspaper office for red flag warnings issued through the Webfence mail filters. Two non-politically correct co-workers in particular, Jennifer and Beth, catch his attention and he begins to feel as if he knows them. Now understand this was in the late-90's when email was just becoming part of the corporate culture. I remember when I started in libraries and we had to sign all kinds of documents stating we wouldn't use our email for personal use and it would be monitored. Best newsroom pals Beth and Jennifer trade gossip over their romances—Beth with her marriage-phobic boyfriend, Chris, and Jennifer with her baby-mania-stricken husband, Mitch. Lincoln becomes intrigued by their emails and can't stop himself reading them though he neglects to send warnings or report them. Things become interesting when Beth sends an email to Jennifer about 'my cute guy'. It dawns on Lincoln that Beth is talking about him!
Now he has to wrestle with the dilemma of trying to find out what she looks like, where her desk is and feeling like a peeping tom into Beth and Jennifer's lives. This turn of events makes him feel even more disgusted with the progress of his own life, unable to move on after his girlfriend, Sam, broke his heart. His job is boring, his social life consists of playing Dungeons & Dragons on Saturday nights with old college friends and to make matters worse he begins to wonder about his ethics as a result of the email peeping.
You can't help but want to read to the end to find out what really happens to everyone. Now I read this book because the author is a former Omaha World Herald reporter and my mom was very excited about this book coming out. I have to say I'm glad that I read it. I did find it interesting that Rainbow never lists it being Omaha or the paper's name but does list the Indian Hills movie theater that was torn down in 2001. Reading more about it the Omaha World Herald was one of the driving forces behind it's demolition - this was where Rainbow worked. I remember seeing many movies in that theater which was a single theater and held 100's of people. So it brought back those memories.