An envelope is delivered to protagonist Noah in Cambridge using his self-proclaimed name, Bird—which is how he knows the message is from his mother. As a child, Noah went by the name “Bird” until his mother left when he was nine years old, and his white father insisted that he return to his given name. It’s been three years since Bird last saw his mother, and he hopes the letter will give him a clue as to why she left. Instead, all she’s sent is a drawing of cats. Bird hears from the other children at school that his mother ran away to avoid arrest for starting riots. Bird’s mother, Margaret Miu, is a person of Asian origin suspected of working against American interests. She was once a famous poet.

Bird and his father now live in a dorm at the college where the latter works as a librarian. Bird’s father, Ethan, used to be a professor of linguistics, but now the pair rarely talk about books or the wonderful uses of language. While eating in the dining hall, they’re ordered to stay inside by a shelter-in-place order. Bird recalls images of an event called the Crisis.