Mia is the young artist mother of a teenage daughter, Pearl. Mia and Pearl arrive in Shaker Heights after having spent the entirety of Pearl’s lifetime moving from place to place. Unlike the rest of the residents of Shaker Heights, Mia appears unconventional. Whereas residents have grown up and chosen to stay in Shaker Heights all their lives, Mia’s life has been mostly spent as a vagabond. Her nontraditional lifestyle is puzzling to the rest of Shaker Heights, especially to her landlady, Mrs. Richardson, who observes Mia as “a completely different kind of woman leading a completely different life, who seemed to make her own rules with no apologies” (69). This mystifies Mrs. Richardson in the beginning and then gradually leads to her resentment, as it opposes her attachment to Shaker Heights’ values of orderliness and social convention.

Mia is depicted as highly astute and worldly, acclimating well to her surroundings after having spent so many years on the road with meager resources. She is shown to repurpose objects and find value in commonly discarded items, which is also reflected through her attitude toward people. For instance, she is the only adult in Izzy Richardson’s life who earns the young girl’s trust.