Who is Carl Streator? What is his profession? Why is he investigating sudden infant death syndrome? What does he plan to with this information? Why does this investigation lead to a poem in the book Poems and Rhymes from Around the World? What is Carl Streator's personal connection to this poem? How does this personal connection lead to Streator reaching out to Helen Hoover Boyle?

What does Helen Hoover Boyle do for a living? How does she make money off of this job? Is what Helen does ethical? What else does Helen do to make money? Why? Where did Helen learn about the culling song? How does she tell Streator she deals with the power over life and death? Does this information help Streator with his own struggle?

Who is Mona? Why does Streator invite her to join him and Helen on their road...