The novel begins with 15-year-old Julia Reyes’ observations of her sister Olga’s corpse. She notices that Olga’s face has a smug smirk, which is uncharacteristic of her, since “Olga was as meek and fragile as a baby bird” (1). Julia thinks her 22-year-old sister was “Saint Olga, the perfect Mexican daughter” (2), who led a boring, plain life. Julia cannot wait to leave her home in Chicago and aspires to be a famous writer. 

At the wake, their mother, Amparo Montenegro Reyes (“Amá”), wails by Olga’s casket while their father, Rafael (“Apa”), sits at the back of the room silently all day. Julia wants to comfort Amá but has never had a close, affectionate relationship with her. Despite not having much in common, Julia does believe she and Olga loved each other.

Julia mentally replays the events on the day of Olga’s death, wondering what she could have done differently to keep Olga from dying. That day, Julia got sent to the principal’s office—a regular occurrence—for mouthing off to a teacher. Instead of giving Olga a ride, Amá had to pick Julia up from school. While crossing the street to catch a bus, Olga checked her phone and a semi-truck hit her.