The novel opens with Sunday Brennan, a waitress, driving back to her apartment in Los Angeles even though she is drunk. She soon realizes she has made a terrible mistake and must hurry to her apartment because her inebriated state makes it difficult for her to drive well. She initially planned for an Uber to pick her up from the bar, but after too many delays, she decided to take the chance and drive back to her apartment, hoping it would not take her too long.

Another waitress at the restaurant where Sunday works, whose name she remembers as Mia or Maia, invited her to her birthday party at a bar. Sunday does not know her well, but she agrees to go so that she does not have to be alone and reread the email her brother Jackie sent her earlier, which she knows would be “too damn painful” (1-2). Sunday recalls that when she talked to Mia/Maia during the party, she revealed that she had recently graduated and gotten engaged. Sunday laments how much this contrasts with her single, uneventful life. She then refocuses on driving but cannot see the road well enough. She tries to brake, only to crash and fall unconscious.