Jinny, the protagonist, hears the bell ringing on the island, signaling that the boat has arrived. She and the other children all run to the dock. Deen’s ringing the bell, and Jinny feels bad that he had to be the one to spot the boat first this year since it’s his turn to leave. Each year (or at least, they think it’s a year—they don’t keep a calendar), a small green boat with no skipper arrives, carrying a sole passenger—a small child who will now be the youngest on the island, taking the place of the oldest (in this case, Deen), who is supposed to get in the boat and be taken away. After Deen leaves, Jinny will become the “Elder”—the oldest on the island—and will be responsible for the new child arriving in the boat, who will share her cabin and be her “Care,” until a year later when the boat arrives again and it’s Jinny’s turn to leave, passing the role of Elder along to Ben.

Other than the boat that arrives once a year, the children have no contact with the outside world.