Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of anti-gay bias, substance abuse, death, violence, imprisonment, torture, and cruelty to animals.

Evie narrates the story from an unknown future moment and describes the luxurious house that she and her family and friends are renting for the summer. Evie also describes the area’s wildlife and the house’s pets. Evie’s parents and their friends are celebrating a college reunion. Most of the kids are teenagers and are deeply embarrassed by their parents, who disgust them with constant drinking, “dull” conversation, witless humor, and awkward dancing. The kids range in age from 9 to 17 and play a variety of games to amuse themselves and express their contempt for their parents; for example, they secretly contaminate the adults’ food and property.

Aside from Evie, the other teenagers include Terry, Jen, Low, Sukey, Juicy, Rafe, David, Dee, Val, and Alycia. Terry is a “squat,” bespectacled boy who loves fancy words and pompous lectures. Seventeen-year-old Alycia is the oldest of the group and has gone “AWOL” (a term meaning “absent without leave”) by hitchhiking to a dive bar at a nearby town, where she has a boyfriend; the other kids cover for her.