Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body takes the reader through the ungendered, unnamed narrator's past and present love life. The narrator has boyfriends and girlfriends, although it appears that relationships with women leave more significant emotional scars. S/he is focused on Louise, a lover s/he met while living with another partner, Jacqueline. Louise hails from Australia and has red hair, a beautiful face, and a husband, Elgin. The narrator falls quickly in love with Louise and ends the relationship with Jacqueline. She reacts by ransacking the narrator's flat, causing a fight between the two. The narrator quickly invites Louise to move in.

Elgin is heartbroken by the betrayal and tries to convince the narrator to give up his relationship with Louise. Elgin informs the narrator that Louise has cancer, which he is willing to help her fight if the narrator will break up with Louise so that Louise and Elgin can reunite. The narrator agrees and writes Louise a tearful goodbye letter before packing up and leaving London.

The narrator moves into an old house in the countryside of Yorkshire and takes a job at a wine bar managed by Gail. S/he ultimately takes Gail home, although s/he never sleeps with Gail. S/he continues to mourn Louise, both worrying about her health and wishing she was still in the narrator's life. S/he shares the story about Louise with Gail, who shares her maternal side, telling the narrator it was cowardly to leave Louise behind. The narrator decides to go to London to find Louise but cannot locate her despite checking her flat, Elgin's home, and her mother's house. The narrator does find Elgin, and the two have a physical fight resulting in injuries for Elgin.

The narrator spends the next six weeks in London, reminiscing and visiting familiar places. Ultimately, s/he returns to the country, where she finds Louise, looking very ill. The reader is left unsure as to whether Louise and the narrator find happiness.