Eve is enjoying the late fall afternoon when the phone rings. It is Ayanna Jackson, Mia’s colleague at the high school where they are both teachers. Ayanna explains that Mia is not at work and has not called in. She is not answering her phone. Eve begins to make excuses for Mia to protect her from an angry employer: “The fact that she might already be in trouble has yet to cross my mind” (11). Mia’s disappearance finally sinks in, and Eve begins to feel guilty for not planning a 25th birthday party for her daughter.

Detective Gabe Hoffman is nervous entering the Dennett’s home. It is a beautiful English Tudor in the wealthy North Shore suburbs of Chicago. His boss has warned him not to screw up this case. Gabe enters the home to find James, Eve, and Grace inside. He begins to question them about Mia’s whereabouts and their last known contact with her. He makes judgements of the family: Grace, the lawyer, likes to hear herself speak. James demeans his wife and missing daughter. Eve is beautiful and deeply anxious. Gabe collects information about Mia’s apartment and colleagues, despite James’s insistence that his “daughter is not a missing person.