The novel opens with Vanessa MacLeod’s memories of the “old Connor place” in Manawaka, where her grandfather, Timothy Connor, built a unique large brick house.

Vanessa and her pregnant mother, Beth MacLeod, are on their way to dinner at this house. Vanessa’s father, Dr. Ewen MacLeod, is delayed due to his medical duties with a terminally ill patient. At the house, Vanessa’s gruff grandfather contrasts with her tender, religious grandmother, Agnes Connor, who delights in her canary and lovingly calls Vanessa “pet.” Vanessa, although disinterested in Sunday school, routinely prepares to answer Agnes’s inquiries about her lessons, often picking the most macabre topics to discuss.

Grandfather Connor is restless, yearning for Monday so he can resume his activities. Despite having recently sold his hardware store, he often visits it, critiquing the new owner’s lax work ethic. In the kitchen, Vanessa’s aunt Edna, unemployed due to the Depression and living at home, gossips with Beth about Grandfather Connor.

Frustrated by a torn skirt on a doll she is making, Vanessa is dismissed from the room as the adults discuss Grandfather Connor’s overbearing ways. Outside, Vanessa snaps at Grandfather Connor for his impatience with her father’s delayed return, earning a rebuke for potentially upsetting her grandmother, who remains oblivious to the tension.