Finn Earl, a 16-year-old, lives with his massage therapist mother in New York City. He wants to break free from her controlling behavior and take care of himself. His mother's work has become shady, involving advertisements in questionable magazines to support her cocaine and alcohol addiction. When Finn is invited to spend the summer with his biological father, a renowned anthropologist, in South America, an incident forces him to stay in New Jersey with his mother. She convinces a wealthy client, Ogden C. Osborne, to hire her as his therapist, and they move to his estate. Finn treats this experience like an anthropological study, observing the people around him, including Osborne's family, servants, and neighbors. Despite befriending some, he may find this "tribe" more treacherous than the Ishkanani tribe he was initially planning to visit.

Fierce People
A woman in recovery starts anew in New Jersey with the support of a wealthy benefactor, while her former partner embarks on a journey of self-discovery through indigenous cultures in South America.