St. James, Louisiana, April 2075

The Chestnut family home is situated next to a river in St. James, where Sarat grows up until the age of six. The area is heavily affected by rising sea levels, which have wiped out entire buildings, residential areas, and cities. The Chestnut family resides in a salvaged shipping container, but their makeshift home is crowded and hardly comfortable. Their home overheats in the summers and leaks when it rains. Their home is divided into three sections: one for the parents, Benjamin and Martina; one for the children; and one for the kitchen and food supplies. Because of the rising sea levels, the land around the Chestnut home is saturated with mud and clay, which the children like to play in.

Camp Patience, Iuka, Mississippi, 2081

Camp Patience is a large refugee camp operated by the Red Crescent aid group, where Martina and her children occupy...