Miranda, a mixed-media artist living in a small island town in Washington, receives a copy of Theo in the mail from her mother, who runs an advertising firm in New York City. Miranda, who disapproves of her mother’s bourgeois lifestyle and consumerist habits, scoffs at the gift, assuming that the book will reflect a similar worldview.

When Miranda was 18, she moved to the West Coast to start a new life. She first studied art in Los Angeles and then moved to Alaska and worked at a salmon cannery. When she was 28, she discovered the island in Washington State where she now lives.

Just as Miranda disapproves of her mother’s lifestyle, she fears that her mother disapproves of hers. Whenever her mother asks her about her art, Miranda detects a note of judgment, as if her mother is asking obliquely when Miranda is going to get a real job and start making some real money. Miranda’s mother is kind and supportive, but she has trouble understanding her daughter, and her efforts to help often come across as criticisms. Their conversations inevitably leave Miranda feeling tense and angry, making it hard for her to focus on her art.