Sam Arthur is 28 years old and works at the concessions aboard the ferry that cycles back and forth between San Juan and its surrounding islands. She sells coffee and snacks because she can’t secure a different job. She and her older sister, Elena Arthur, who works at a golf course, save their meager earnings to help pay their mother’s health care bills. She has a pulmonary condition.

Sam hopes that they can one day leave the island, believing that this is their best chance at prosperity. Their only valuable asset is their house, which their grandmother purchased in 1979 and which they’ll inherit from their mother.

One night, as Sam finishes work, she spots something moving in the water and realizes that it’s a bear. A stranger is standing on the dock smoking, so Sam leaves.

When Sam returns from work, Elena is washing the dishes. She tells her about the bear she saw swimming in the channel. Elena asks for other news of the day, and Sam says that a coworker invited her to go camping, though she likely won’t go.

Sam and Elena have always been close, and they were born only 13 months apart.