It’s summertime in an idyllic Cape Cod beach town. A rusty silver Subaru travels along the coastline. Rocky, a woman in her mid-fifties, rides in the passenger seat alongside her husband Nick. They’ve been married for many years and are now navigating their children’s transition into early adulthood and their parents’ transition into old age. The family has vacationed on Cape Cod each summer for the last 20 years, and Rocky is happy to have their children along with them on this trip, even though they’re now adults themselves. As the car speeds toward their destination, they discuss poetry, race, and the politics of abolition, although the tone is lighthearted and the conversation pleasant.

The small, cape-side home where Rocky, Nick, Willa, and Jamie have vacationed each summer since the children were small is quaint but rustic. The plumbing is old, and although the family knows not to “overwhelm the ancient septic system” (a small sign in the bathroom says as much), they immediately clog the toilet (8). Rocky and Nick try to unclog it with a plunger while Willa and Jamie inquire from the hallway about the severity of the issue.