When Georgina’s father leaves them with “nothing but three rolls of quarters and a mayonnaise jar full of wadded-up dollar bills” she, her mother, and her brother Toby have no choice but to leave their apartment and live out of their car (3). Although her mother is doing her best to turn the situation around by working two jobs, Georgina is ashamed and despondent. She hides the truth about her living situation from her nosy best friend Luanne Godfrey, until the day Luanne follows her and finds out. Georgina breaks down and begs Luanne not to tell anyone.

When Georgina’s mother returns home from work tired, explaining that they do not have enough money yet to rent an apartment, Georgina complains at the unfairness of the situation. She wants to know why her father left, but her mother is vague, explaining that her father “just got tired of it all” (10).

While Georgina is trying to get comfortable for the night, she spots a sign advertising that a dog named Mitsy has been lost and that the reward for finding her is $500. Georgina first imagines that she could find Mitsy and then decides that it would be too difficult, as she would not even know where to begin looking.