Content Warning: This section contains references to and graphic descriptions of domestic violence, sexual assault, death by suicide, murder, and animal death.

Isaac Balch explains that he discovered that his son, Daniel, was missing after football practice. He called his ex-wife, Katherine, and organized a search. Then, Daniel’s best friend and neighbor, Jonah Geiger, died by suicide and left a note explaining where to find Daniel’s body.

Sixteen-year-old Evangeline McKensey takes stock of her possessions in the old trailer from which she’s being evicted. Her mother, Viv, abandoned her in early July, and now, in early October, Evangeline is pregnant. She thinks of Daniel’s father and considers making him part of her plan to escape her circumstances.

Daniel’s murder and Jonah’s death received significant news attention. Katherine insisted on a Catholic mass for Daniel, and a student memorial was held at the high school. Both services were filled. Isaac arranged for a Quaker service at the Friends meeting that he and Daniel regularly attended. Isaac’s friend Peter meets him at the door and hugs him. As Isaac sits in the meeting for Daniel, he remembers Daniel as a newborn, at five years old, and at 14.