Content Warning: This section contains references to anti-gay bias, the stigmatization of HIV/AIDS, and death.

The novel’s protagonist, June, is a quiet and reserved 14-year-old who mourns the death of her uncle Finn and must cope with the loss of the person whom she considers to be her best friend and greatest support. June places Finn on a pedestal and is fiercely loyal to him, despite the stigma of his AIDS diagnosis, and is in awe of his talent as a painter and his unique interests. Indeed, June is quick to take an interest in anything that Finn presents to her, and it is via Finn that June grows to love medievalism and the art and culture associated with it. June feels isolated after Finn’s death, lacking other close friends and recently distanced from her sister. While the rest of her family blames Finn’s partner, Toby, for Finn’s illness and death, June, out of her desperation for a connection to Finn, ultimately concedes to Toby’s invitation to get to know one another. Indeed, her grief over Finn is a central aspect of the novel’s conflict, and the loss that June experiences is a challenge she wrestles with as the novel unfolds.