The book opens with a very brief introductory paragraph, which situates the novel’s plot as the last stage in Jamaica’s long history dating back to prehistoric times when the island rose above and fell into the ocean.

The story begins on a hot July Sunday in 1958 during mango season. The Savages: James Arthur or Boy, his wife Kitty, and two daughters, Clare and Jennie, are preparing to attend the weekly morning service at John Knox Memorial Church, a middle-class white and Black place of worship. There is no choir at the church; instead, a Scottish schoolteacher plays Presbyterian songs on an out-of-tune harpsichord. After the service, the family returns home for a Sunday dinner prepared by their Black servant, Dorothy. After eating, the Savages go for a weekly seabath at Tumbleover beach. Mr. Savage believes he is touched by a shark and swears to never go into the sea again, despite Kitty’s assurances that it is safe to do so. 

A few weeks prior, Clare finds a fossil on the beach. This leads to her father’s explanation about the insignificance of human civilization in comparison to the long history of the world. Such conversations with her father lead Clare to believe that he treats her as if she is his son.