Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and substance use.

In May of 2020, an unnamed narrator—later revealed to be Jack Bennett—sits by a campfire in Sims Chapel, Tennessee. He shares that the events of his life have convinced him that people have the power to choose their own paths in life. His daughter, Caroline, calls to let him know that she has taken care of putting his house on the market. He thinks a little sadly of the 60 years of happiness he had in this home. When Caroline offers to accompany him on the trip he is about to undertake, he tells her that it is his responsibility and refuses her offer. He asks whether she found her mother’s memory box while clearing out the house, but she says no. He worries that it is lost forever but says that he will look one last time before heading out in the morning on what he anticipates will be one of the hardest days of his life.

The point of view shifts to a third-person narrator, and the setting shifts back in time to May of 1950.