Tom Kennedy, a novelist, is wracked with grief over the sudden death of his wife, Rebecca, to a heart attack, and it’s taking a toll on his relationship with his six-year-old son, Jake. That Jake discovered Rebecca’s body exacerbates his guilt. Also, his grief is affecting his writing career, which has stalled, and he’s dealing with the trauma of his absentee father—and his memory of a violent encounter between his parents that occurred the last time he saw his father. He’s eager for ways to connect with Jake but privately worries that the boy is too strange. Tom’s fumbling attempts to alternately let his son be himself (as when he doesn’t look at Jake’s Packet of Special Things) and connect with his son on his terms (often in moments when Jake has misbehaved at school or acted strangely at home) contribute to their strained relationship.

Tom’s narrative arc centers on finding ways to reach his son and grappling with the reemergence of his absentee father, Pete Willis. Tom has a specific, vivid memory of Pete’s last night in Tom’s childhood home, which leads him to initially see Pete as a non-presence in his life, choosing instead to treat him as a stranger whose only connection is that he’s investigating Jake’s attempted kidnapping.