The novel opens in St. Jude, Missouri, at the home of Enid and Alfred Lambert. Alfred Lambert is a retired railroad engineer, and Enid is his homemaker wife. The two live in a large house that Enid tries to keep impeccably tidy, even while Alfred insists on his messy solitary projects. He has the remains of a chemistry lab in the basement and keeps painting and repainting furniture.

Enid is in the habit of hiding the mail from Alfred in an effort to keep the house clean and also to control the family finances. The couple have recently received a registered letter from the Axon Corporation, which she is anxious to locate: “[B]ecause there were aspects of the Axon situation that Enid knew about and hoped that Alfred didn’t, she’d quickly stashed the letter somewhere within fifteen feet of the front door” (4). The two are planning a trip to New York City, to see their children Chip and Denise; afterward, they are to go on a cruise to Quebec.

Alfred is increasingly experiencing age-related cognitive decline along with Parkinson’s symptoms, although he remains a forceful patriarch. Enid must take care of him while trying not to antagonize him.