Paloma Marquez and her mother travel by plane to Mexico City. They will be there—in the country where Paloma’s late father was born—for four weeks of the summer as Paloma’s mother, a professor, has been awarded a fellowship. Paloma is reluctant to leave behind her friends and their summer plans. As she looks through the Spanish/English dictionary she has brought with her, Paloma’s mother encourages Paloma to consider the trip an adventure.

As they deplane, Paloma hopes that being in Mexico will provide her with clues about who her father was. He died in an accident when Paloma was three; he was killed when he stopped to help a stranded motorist on a busy highway. She keeps a small box with photos and other memorabilia of him. Each time her mother tells a new story about him, Paloma makes notes about it on a notecard and places it in her box.

Paloma and her mother wait for Professor Breton from the local university to pick them up. While they wait, Paloma studies a poster that depicts a woman with hairy eyebrows surrounded by animals. Her mother explains that it is an advertisement for the Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyacán, which is near the house in which they are staying.