The first-person narrator, Briana Irene Matthews—generally called Bree, but also called Matty—listens to a cop explain how her mom was killed in a hit-and-run car accident. The cop has a magical look to grief-stricken Bree. While her dad fills out paperwork, Bree thinks about applying to Early College at UNC Chapel Hill with her friend Alice Chen; they want to escape the small town of Bentonville. Bree’s last conversation with her mom was about her acceptance to Early College. Her mom, Faye, was upset because Bree didn’t tell her about the application process (the reader later learns Faye is also upset because she encountered issues with magic-users on campus and wants to protect Bree from them).

Three months later at Eno River State Park, Bree and Alice watch students from UNC jump off a cliff into the water below. They talk about Bree’s Black hair and Alice’s Taiwanese American hair in the humidity. Alice is unhappy about breaking the rules on their first night at Early College. They were invited to the cliff-jumping party by an older friend, Charlotte, who is also from Bentonville. They talk to Charlotte’s boyfriend, Evan (who is eventually killed and replaced by a demon pretending to be a human).