Summary

The novel takes place during an unspecified future period. Chapter 1 opens in Brooklyn, New York. Teenager Pella Marsh is with her mother (Caitlin) and her two younger brothers (Raymond and David.) They are all preparing for an outing to the beach, and they are discussing a distant planet that has begun to be colonized by humans. The native species on the planet is a group of intelligent, hermaphroditic, humanoid creatures called Archbuilders, although they no longer build arches. The Archbuilders changed the weather of the planet to always be temperate so that they no longer had any use for buildings. On the way to the beach, Pella thinks of her father, Clement, who used to be a politician but who lost the latest election. Pella internally recalls her first period, which she had recently. Pella, Caitlin, David, and Raymond arrive at the Coney Island...