Connell Waldron goes to Marianne Sheridan’s house to pick up his mother, Lorraine, who works there as a housekeeper. Connell is a shy but solidly popular high school student; Marianne is wealthy, isolated, and extremely unpopular. They live and go to school in Carricklea, a town in the west of Ireland. 

While Connell waits for his mother to finish cleaning, he and Marianne have a charged and uneasy conversation. They talk about their economics teacher, Paula Neary, who pays an unusual amount of attention to Connell, Connell admits that Neary makes him feel uncomfortable.  

Lorraine finishes working and interrupts their conversation. During their drive home, she tells Connell that he should be nicer to Marianne, that she is “a very sensitive person” (8). Connell asks his mother to drop the subject. 

Marianne gets ready for a mysterious date one evening. On her way out of her house, she is stopped, challenged, and pushed by Alan, her bullying older brother. Once she escapes, she sends a text to an unknown recipient, announcing that she is on her way. 

She remembers going to a school soccer game with the rest of her class at the end of the term. Though she doesn’t care about soccer as a sport, she was delighted to watch Connell out on the field and to witness him score a goal.