In 1862 two orphaned children sit beside the corpse of their father, who died the previous night. The older sibling is 12-year-old Lucy. Her younger brother, Sam, is 11. After their mother died three years earlier, the children’s father Ba turned to drink. A failed gold miner, he dragged his family around looking for silver and eked out a living digging coal.

Lucy has always endured his abuse while he dotes on Sam. Sam was born a girl but dresses as a boy. He shares his father’s delusion that he is the son Ba always wanted and identifies as male. Lucy says, “She figured Ba died angry. Now she knows different: his was the measuring squint of a hunter tracking prey. Already she sees the signs of possession. Ba’s squint in Sam’s eyes. Ba’s anger in Sam’s body” (8).

The two children try to scrape together enough money to bury their father. In desperation, they go to the local bank for a loan. After being rejected, Sam angrily shoots his father’s gun, grazing the banker’s head. The children flee in fear. Later, Lucy is attacked by some bullies.