It is the first day of October in Chicago. Jason, a physicist at a small college, is making dinner with his wife, Daniela, and his 14-year-old son, Charlie. He and his wife drink wine and banter about their choice of raising a family over having an art career (for Daniela) and doing Nobel Prize-winning research (for Jason). Jason’s graduate school friend and fellow scientist Ryan Holder has won a prestigious award and is celebrating with friends at a bar nearby. Daniela convinces Jason to congratulate his friend and asks him to pick up some ice cream on the way home. During this scene, Jason notes that it is the last night of his happy life before tragedy strikes and changes it forever.

At the bar, Jason has a drink with Ryan. Ryan, who Jason believes “has a thing” for Daniela (5), asks how Daniela is doing. He tells Jason that Jason’s scientific discoveries could have changed the world, but instead, he gave up. Jason gets angry and leaves the bar.

After stopping at Whole Foods for ice cream, Jason walks home under the “El,” Chicago’s railway system. A man in a “geisha mask” accosts him (11), holding a gun to his back.