Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses rape, substance abuse, attempted death by suicide, gambling addiction, domestic violence, and pregnancy loss.

The novel begins in June 1993. Casey Han is 22 years old and has just completed a degree in economics at Princeton. She is unsure what profession she wants to pursue and has moved back in with her parents in their apartment in Queens; her boyfriend, Jay Currie, has also invited her to move in with him. Casey feels torn between her upbringing within a traditional Korean American family and the identity she developed during her time at college; she has also been exposed to individuals who are much wealthier than her working-class family: “[H]er four years at Princeton had given her a refined diction, an enviable golf handicap, wealthy friends, a popular white boyfriend” (4).

Casey gathers for dinner with her parents, Leah and Joseph Han, and her younger sister, Tina. The dinner is tense because Joseph is adamant that Casey get a job as quickly as possible, whereas Casey is resentful of her father’s demands. Casey has a part-time job working for a woman named Sabine, who she is close with, and wants to continue this work while she decides on her future path.