Coyle begins by introducing the concept of “talent hotbeds”—localized environments where individuals excel in specific skills or domains. He gives examples of unassuming locales in countries ranging from Russia to the United States to the Dominican Republic to China, all of which have produced highly talented individuals in various fields. He poses a question: What is the secret behind these talent hotbeds, and how can their success be replicated?

To answer this question, he tells the story of a 13-year-old girl named Clarissa, a seemingly average clarinet player whose style of practice turns out to be remarkable. Clarissa was part of a study run by music psychologists Gary McPherson and James Renwick. McPherson and Renwick examined her progress over several years. Even though Clarissa was thought to possess no natural talent, the psychologists noticed that the way in which she approached her clarinet practice sometimes placed her on par with professional musicians. Though Clarissa didn’t realize it, she sometimes dealt with learning new pieces in the following way: She played a few notes, stopped as soon as she made an error, then restarted and went a bit further, then stopped at the next error, and so on.