Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses abuse and depression.

Ten-year-old Meredith May drives with her grandfather, a beekeeper whom she calls Grandpa, to take care of a bee swarm on a private tennis ranch. Meredith has lived with her grandfather for five years and has become familiar with the seasonal patterns of beekeeping. Each spring, neighbors call her grandfather to remove swarms of bees from chimneys, trees, and walls. Although Meredith cannot read the street signs, she knows that Grandpa is speeding. When they arrive at the site, the bees are swarming around a buckeye tree. Grandpa explains that the bees are swarming because their queen has left the hive, and they are desperate to protect her. The bees begin to form a tight ball around a specific point on the tree, and Grandpa tells Meredith that the bees are surrounding the queen to keep her safe.

As Grandpa prepares to collect the swarm, Meredith feels something buzzing on her neck underneath her hair. As the bee stings her, she feels more bees collecting in her hair and begins to panic. Meredith suddenly smells bananas, which she recognizes as the bees’ emergency response signal, and realizes that she is under attack.