The novel’s prologue introduces its protagonist, 12-year-old Crow, and its setting, one of the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts, where Crow lives with a man named Osh. In addition, the prologue alludes to an event that occurs later in the novel, when Crow will see a mysterious fire burning on neighboring Penikese. Her curiosity about this leads to the novel’s main conflicts.

The first chapter flashes recounts what Crow knows about her origins. No one knows exactly where she came from; when she was just a few hours old, Osh found her alone, washed ashore in a small boat. Osh took the baby in and has cared for her ever since. He named her Crow because she was “hoarse with crying” when he found her, and “cawed over and over” (4). Ironically, Crow resembles a crow, with a hooked nose, dark skin and eyes, skinny limbs, and a birthmark in the shape of a feather on her cheek.

Osh comes from an unnamed foreign place, and speaks a different language in addition to English. Together with their cat Mouse, Osh and Crow live a peaceful, if isolated, life on their island.