Lillian receives a letter from her friend Madison Roberts, inviting Lillian to visit Madison and her husband’s Tennessee home. Also enclosed are an ambiguous offer for “an interesting job opportunity” and money for travel (5). Lillian, who still lives at home and works as a grocery store cashier, snatches the opportunity, which she is confident will be an improvement.

A week after Lillian replies, Carl, one of the Roberts’ staff, collects Lillian from the train station in Nashville and drives her to the estate. On the journey, he mentions that Madison calls Lillian her “oldest friend,” which prompts Lillian to reflect on the strange nature of their relationship. Lillian met Madison when she (Lillian) transferred to a prestigious private girls’ school located on a mountain in Tennessee. Lillian, an impoverished resident of that mountain’s valley, received a scholarship for academic excellence: As a child, she was brilliant enough that her mother left the finances to her, but Lillian plagiarized her way through her studies and into the Iron Mountain Girls Preparatory School. Lillian’s mother was preoccupied with her many casual partners and showed little interest in her daughter attending the private institution.