It is 1999, and Carmen and Ruben Oganesyan and their son Zaven live in an apartment building in Los Angeles. The family immigrated from Yerevan after the Soviet Union fell. Zaven is eighteen, and he is friends with two brothers named Robert and Vardan. Robert and Vardan are the sons of Miriam, and the three of them live in the same apartment complex as Carmen and her family. Carmen distrusts Miriam and is unhappy with Zaven's friendship with Robert and Vardan, whom she thinks are poor influences on Zaven. Despite her distrust, Carmen says hello to Miriam whenever she sees her in the building. However, Carmen tries to keep Zaven away from Robert and Vardan by hiding his cellphone and feigning ill to guilt him into staying home. One afternoon, Carmen is clipping her laundry to the clothesline in the backyard of the complex when Miriam comes by with her own basket. Miriam is smoking, and Carmen asks her to stop, since she is getting the smoke on Carmen's clean laundry. Miriam and Carmen have a tense, argumentative exchange before Carmen leaves. Camen sees police sirens as she steps out of the bath that evening. When she turns on the TV, she sees Zaven's face on it, in the back of a police car. Zaven, Robert, and Vardan were arrested for smoking marijuana at their community college. In the aftermath of the arrest, Carmen and Miriam get into a physical fight. Weeks later, Miriam finds Carmen dead in the laundry room, having hung herself. Miriam is distraught, and takes refuge among the other women in the apartment complex.