scarlet is a reserved seventeen year old girl. she feels like her family obligations are holding her back. while out at a convenience store, think 7-11, by some shady vacant gas station, she receives a phone call from her father. he gives her specific instructions and tells her to complete them immidiately, no questions asked, after which she is to call him back. she later finds out that her father, a desperate and gullible man, has gotten himself into a sticky situation, and that she may be the only way out. however, her father refuses to give her any details, insisting that he'll figure things out himself, and so scarlet is forced to figure things out as she goes along. her father's inconsistent sets of directions get her into a deal of trouble, which she often has to think her way out of. she devises her plans and thinks in the form of lists. she keeps a notebook and a thick tipped pen in her pocket for making these lists. she can never contact her father for further instructions because he calls her via a payphone. scarlet finds this strange because people rarely use payphones these days, as a matter of fact this is the clue that eventually leads her to her father.