Summary

The novel opens in a park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the park, a Brazilian writer named Beatriz Yagoda climbs into an almond tree with a suitcase. A man sees this and asks if she needs help. Sitting in the tree, reading a book and smoking a cigar, Beatriz says that she needs no help and in fact has been looking forward to this day. The narrative then transitions to Pittsburgh, where Emma Neufeld, the American translator for Beatriz Yagoda’s works, frets over the fact that Beatriz has not answered any e-mails in over a week. Her fiancé Miles tells her not to worry. The narrative notes that Emma has doubts about her relationship with Miles. Emma receives an e-mail from a man named Flamenguinho saying that Beatriz climbed into an almond tree last week and hasn’t been seen since then...