The first pages of the book imagine the moment Sasha and Richard’s lives intersect in real time. The author establishes the scene in the present tense and introduces the two main characters. Slater describes Sasha’s clothing: “a T-shirt, a black fleece jacket, a gray flat cap, and a gauzy white skirt.” Richard is wearing “a black hoodie and an orange-billed New York Knicks hat,” and he has “hazel eyes and a slow, sweet grin” (4).

Slater describes Sasha asleep and Richard horsing around with his friends then interrupts the narrative: “Wait” (4). She presages the violence and consequences to come, including Sasha’s weeks of surgery and Richard’s arrest, then addresses the reader directly:

For now, both teenagers are just taking the bus home from school. 

Surely it’s no too late to stop things from going wrong. There must be some way to wake Sasha. Divert Richard. Get the driver to stop the bus. 

There must be something you can do (5).

The next pages describe the city of Oakland, California and how it is “a city of stark contrasts” (7). Slater explains how the economy has been impacted by the wealth of the San Francisco area, bringing money and privilege across the bay.