Protagonist Hannah Jones discovers her best friend’s corpse on the floor of their shared suite at Pelham, a fictional college within Oxford University. Hannah remembers vivid details about the campus and the walk back to her suite, particularly the open door to the girl’s shared set of rooms. In retrospect, Hannah believes that she should have known to expect wrongdoing since the door wasn’t closed. Although Hannah repressed the memories of discovering April Coutts-Cliveden’s body, her friend Hugh Bland has since recounted and described the scene to Hannah. Hugh (revealed to be April’s murderer in the plot twist at the novel’s end) is the first person to respond to Hannah’s screams for help. Hannah often wakes at night envisioning her deceased friend’s body while hearing screams.

Jumping ahead 10 years, Hannah lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, and works at Tall Tales Bookshop. She’s married and expecting a child with Will de Chastaigne, Hannah and April’s shared love interest from Pelham. Hannah receives a call from her mother, Jill, while at work. Jill tells Hannah that John Neville, the man convicted of murdering April, has died in prison of a heart attack.