Astrid Magnussen (age 12) and her mother, Ingrid, live together in Hollywood, California. The novel is narrated from Astrid’s perspective and begins by describing the Santa Ana winds that dry and heat the air. It is an environment where “only the oleanders thrived, their delicate poisonous blooms, their dagger green leaves” (3). Astrid knows that her mother acts strangely at this time of year and finds her mother sitting on the roof in the middle of the night, dressed only in a kimono. Ingrid mentions lovers killing each other and blaming it on the wind. Astrid’s mother reminds her that she is of Norse heritage; both have pale blonde hair and light skin, and culture is one with a history rooted in strength and courage. Astrid describes her mother’s voice as hypnotic and her smile as one that hides a private joke and sketches a picture of her standing underneath a fig tree.

Ingrid meets Barry at one of her poetry readings. Ingrid brings home a younger, more attractive man that night, and Astrid remembers her mother’s many lovers. White oleanders are arranged in three clusters on the table to symbolize “heaven, man, and earth” (6).