In 2059, Shira sits opposite her ex-husband, Josh, and anxiously waits to hear the verdict over the custody of their son, Ari. She regrets marrying Josh but appreciates that the marriage produced her son. Both are marranos, secret Jews who pretend to be revivalist Shinto followers in order to fit into the necessary corporate culture of Y-S. The lonely life of the corporation is very different to the free town of Tikva where Shira was raised. The world has been split into 23 “multis,” each run by a corporation, since the Two Week War in 2017. At that time, Jerusalem was attacked by “a conflagration of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons” (13) that destroyed the entire Middle East and ended the world’s dependence on oil. Many blamed the Jews for this war.

Shira and Josh are summoned, and the verdict is delivered: Josh wins custody, and Shira has visiting rights. Shira is distraught and wants to appeal; first, she must collect Ari from daycare. She rushes across the city, breaking the strict social conventions without caring if she is reported. When she arrives, however, she discovers that a security assignee named Shipman has already collected Ari. Despondent, Shira travels to her assigned apartment.