Mia became obsessed with photography at an early age and received guidance in fine-tuning her skills from a neighbor, Mr. Wilkinson, until he entered a retirement home. Mia continued to grow her skills, applied to the New York School of Fine Arts, and was accepted on scholarship for the first semester. She decided to attend the school despite her parents’ objections. Without their support, she worked three jobs to help pay her bills while her scholarship covered tuition.

During her first semester, she studied with famed photographer Pauline Hawthorne, who decided to mentor her. Pauline invited Mia to her home where she introduced her to her partner, Mal. They would feed Mia and offer advice about her art. It became clear that Mia was talented. 

One day, Joseph Ryan approached Mia on a subway platform. Afraid that he was going to attack her, Mia tried to run away. However, Joseph eventually explained that he wanted to ask her to have a child for him and his wife, who could not carry one. He said he would pay her money for this and left her his contact information. Left with few options, Mia reached out to Joseph to meet his wife, Madeleine.