Raami is a seven-year-old girl living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 1975. Her father, whom she refers to as Papa, is Sisowath Ayuravann, a minor Cambodian prince and a poet of some renown. Raami lives on the outskirts of the city in a large estate with her mother, Aana—referred to as Mama—her toddler sister Radana, her aunt Tata, her “Queen Grandmother,” and a staff of servants including Om Bao, Milk Mother, and Old Boy.

Since 1970, a civil war between the newly-installed republican government and the Communist Party of Kampuchea, colloquially known as the Khmer Rouge, has embroiled Cambodia. Until recently, Raami felt safe from the ravages of the war as long as she remained within the estate’s walls. Yet lately, she can sense Papa’s anxiety over the Khmer Rouge’s advance toward Phnom Penh. While he supports the egalitarian ideals of the Khmer Rouge, he fears the militancy and immaturity of its members.

As the family prepares for a New Year’s celebration, Om Bao goes missing while shopping in the city. After a couple days, Papa and Old Boy—with whom Om Bao was involved in a romantic relationship—conclude she is likely dead, a victim of the fighting in Phnom Penh.