The novel opens as Lisa breaks into an abandoned home in search of supplies for her and her younger brother, Todd. Lisa notes the “expensive, comfortable” furniture in the living room before quickly searching the kitchen and pantry for food, medicine, and other necessities like tissues and a can opener. The narrator notes that her actions have become “almost automatic” even though they were completely unfamiliar just a few weeks prior, before the pandemic that killed off the world’s adult population.

She notes the time, but she can’t resist searching the family’s belongings to learn something about them. On a small desk, she finds some letters and discovers that the house belonged to a Mr. Williams, who had been the president of a company. She finds a letter addressed to Mr. Williams’s son John at boarding school, informing him that he and John’s mother had just a few days to live, and that John should find a family friend in Atlanta who has promised to save some of the vaccine for him. Lisa recalls a similar letter her own father sent from the county hospital just before his death.