Summary

In Chapter 1, Amanda and Clay were in the car with their two children, Archie (age 15) and Rose (age 13), heading from their home in Brooklyn to the vacation house they rented on Long Island. The family was upper-middle-class and white; Amanda was an advertising executive and Clay a professor. In the car, Amanda received a call from one of the women she managed at work. They passed a sign warning to watch for deer in the road. The vacation house was deep in the countryside, far from other homes and businesses.

In Chapter 2, the family arrived at the house. Amanda marveled at its beauty and noticed she had no cellphone service. The children changed into their swimsuits and jumped in the pool.

In Chapter 3, Amanda went to the grocery store and bought an abundance of food. She noticed the young man who bagged her...