The epigraph contains a Darwinian concept, as paraphrased by Leon C. Megginson, which proposes how the survival of a species is dependent not on its strength or intelligence, but on its ability to adapt to its changing environment.

The chapter opens with a memory. Diana O’Toole, as a young girl, helps her father, a conservator, repaint a corner of the zodiac ceiling in Grand Central Station. A small spot is left untouched, and Diana’s father tells her that this is done in case historians need to study the original at some point: “The only way you can tell how far you’ve come is to know where you started” (3).

In the present day, it is March 13, 2020, in New York City. Diana is now a 29-year-old associate specialist at Sotheby’s, rushing to meet a client. Kitomi Ito, the widow of a famous musician, Sam Pride, is selling a painting she owns, and Diana is the one who acquired the deal for Sotheby’s. However, Kitomi now tells Diana that she wants to delay the auction due to the Covid situation. Back at the office, Diana’s best friend and colleague, Rodney, tells her that the mayor has declared a state of emergency in the city.