Candace Chen

Candace Chen is the novel’s narrator and protagonist. She was born in Fuzhou, China. When she was six years old, she was relocated to the United States to live with her parents, who had immigrated to America a few years prior. In college, Candace studies visual arts and develops an interest in photography. She then moves to New York City and acquires a job as a project manager for a company called Spectra. The job is stressful and unsatisfying, as it does not engage any of Candace’s creative interests. However, she is afraid of the uncertainty of looking for other work, so she remains in her job. In 2001, she becomes pregnant by her boyfriend, Jonathan, but she does not tell him.

In late 2011, after Shen Fever has caused an apocalyptic level of death on an international scale, Candace finds that she is unharmed, as she...