Summary

In Act 1, "The Colony," Chapter 1, Alexander Borisovich Senderovsky, his wife Masha, and their daughter Natasha, or Nat, prepared for their guests at the House on the Hill. The coronavirus had just emerged, and Senderovsky had invited his friends to visit in order to escape the city (4).

Senderovsky "sped to the liquor store" (5). An actor, “who was not a friend," but was important to Senderovsky, was also visiting (5). Senderovsky spent over $1,000 on alcohol.

Senderovsky picked up Ed Kim from the train station. They stopped at the grocery store, where Senderovsky spent another large sum of money. When the men returned, Masha came out to make sure they were following safety precautions. Ed and Masha were annoyed with each other.

Senderovsky had built several bungalows on the property, hoping to "create the feel of a tidy European village" (15). Though he liked city life, "being the ringleader...