Summary

In Chapter 1, a third-person narrator describes the protagonist, a young woman Sarah, dreaming that she was still in New York from her new apartment in an old, luxury building called The Kingdom in Bangkok. Sarah began renting from the wealthy Ms. Lim, whose family owns the whole building, a few days ago. Sarah chose a fake name for herself in the paperwork, and the narrator notes her hair is dyed and that she wears colored contacts.

Sarah goes down to the building’s pool. There, a Thai woman strikes up conversation. Her name is Mali. She tells Sarah she comes from a wealthy family but spent all her money so must work as an assistant to a financial manager. Sarah says she is a writer, so Mali guesses she has a trust fund. Mali invites her to play poker with her and two other...