Summary

The prologue describes a car driving towards the ocean. Inside is a married couple in their fifties and their two adult children who are travelling to a vacation spot near the ocean they have visited every year since their kids were born.

Chapter 1 takes place on Saturday. Protagonist Rachel, known affectionately as Rocky, and her husband Nick are dealing with a blocked toilet in their rental holiday cottage in Cape Cod. Outside the bathroom door, their college student daughter Willa is asking them how it’s going. Rocky claims they are knee deep in sewage and Nick gently admonishes her for the exaggeration, pointing out that it’s not that bad. Rocky breaks the shower curtain pole which hits Nick in the face, giving him a black eye. After the plumbing crisis is solved, they realize that Nick forgot to...