Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of child abuse and death by suicide.

Narrated by protagonist David Strorm, who is 10 years old when the novel opens, the story begins with David recounting a recurring dream he had when he was younger. He dreamt of a city along the sea with airplanes and cars, although he does not refer to these things by name. David lives in a world “after God sent Tribulation” (5) and has never seen the ocean or a city before. He recalls asking his older sister, Mary, about these dreams, and he suggests that he is dreaming of the “wonderful world that the Old People had lived in” (5). Mary warned David never to speak of his dreams to anyone, and David explains that people in his district do not take kindly to anything different or strange, including the fact that he is left-handed. This advice from his sister protects him, as he hints toward the telepathic abilities that he and his cousin Rosalind share.

One day, David goes to play along the riverbank when he encounters a girl he has never seen before. She has curly hair and seems cautious but friendly, and says her name is Sophie.