Chapter 1 introduces twelve-year-old protagonist Ellie and her family. Ellie, her mother, her older sister Esther, and her younger brother Samuel live in a cabin in Echo Mountain, Maine. The novel opens as Maisie, the farm dog, gives birth to four puppies. One puppy is dead, and Ellie’s mother asks her to go bury it beyond the well. Ellie describes the passion and fire within her as “the flame” (6), and she describes a flickering in her chest as she carries the puppy away and sees a pail of water reflecting the blue sky and trees.

She submerges the puppy “deep into the cold, cold water” (4), and in a few moments, it starts to move. Ellie’s mother tells her she can keep the dog, and Ellie decides after much deliberation to name it Quiet. Samuel likes the name, calling it a “heartbeat name. You know: two parts. Ba-bum. Ba-bum” (6). Ellie loves her brother’s interpretation and knows the name was the right choice. She feels a kinship with Quiet, as if they already understand each other. At the end of the chapter, Ellie directly foreshadows a journey to Star Peak, as well as the people she will meet along the way but does not yet specify why she will venture there.