Content Warning: The source material contains racist and Southern stereotypes, suicide, mild violence, and biased language about mental health.

Ethan Wate lives in Gatlin, South Carolina. Gatlin is a small, Southern town that remains stuck in the past. Ethan thinks about how he cannot wait to graduate so he can leave Gatlin.

Ethan has a nightmare where he tries to hold on to the hand of a girl as they fall together. Ethan wakes up and thinks about his recurring dream. He looks down at his iPod and sees a song that he does not recognize playing called “Sixteen Moons.”

Ethan goes downstairs and greets Amma, the family’s housekeeper, who helped Ethan’s father raise Ethan after Ethan’s mother died. Ethan knows that Amma is prone to superstitions, so he does not pay attention to her warning about the rain. Amma practices voodoo, and Ethan knows that she will probably give him a new charm to ward off evil spirits. Ethan looks down the hallway toward his dad’s study even though he knows he will not see him. Since Ethan’s mother died, his father sits in his study all day working on his book, only coming out at night.