Summary

The novel takes place in the year 2016, in The Hague, Netherlands. The unnamed narrator is a woman who is about 30 years old. She is of Singaporean descent, but she has lived much of her recent life in New York City. She has recently moved to The Hague to work as an interpreter at the United Nations’ International Court of Justice. The narrator applied for the job on an impulse following the death of her ailing father. Her mother has moved back to Singapore. Currently, the narrator’s only friend outside of work is a woman named Jana, who works as a curator at a prominent art museum called the Mauritshuis. One night, the narrator has dinner with Jana at Jana’s apartment. Jana lives in an area of the city that is known for having a relatively high crime rate. They hear sirens during...