It is 1974 in Seattle, and 13-year-old Lenora “Leni” Allbright reads while her parents argue. While Ernt was away at war, Leni and her mother, Cora, drifted from place to place until they ended up at a commune in Oregon. They left the commune after her father came back from the war and often moved because Ernt was unable to hold down a job. Listening to them, Leni knows he has lost his job again. Leni leaves for school, thinking of the precarious state of the world, especially of her family. Weeks later, Ernt informs them that a friend of his who died during his time at Vietnam has left them his land in Alaska. Ernt wants them to move, thinking that this will help his PSTD. Leni resolves to support her parents in the move “[b]ecause that’s what love was” (11).

The next day, Leni meditates on Alaska’s draw, which she views as “like her dad” (12), and goes with Cora to gather money for the move. Since her dad depleted their savings, Cora goes to get a credit card, but despite having a job, no lenders will offer her one without her husband’s signature. Cora must go to her well-to-do parents for money.