Marina Vale is a horse Zoan woman in her early 30s who lives alone in her apartment and spends most of her life buried in office work. She lives in a fully modern world with cities, offices, apartments, stores, phones, transit, and all the ordinary routines of everyday life. The ordinary people of this world are Zoans—anthropomorphic animal people with humanoid bodies and animal-derived traits—and that is completely normal.

Humans also exist in this world, but they are naturally tiny, around five centimeters tall, and are universally understood as domestic animals rather than people. They are treated like pets in every practical sense: bought, sold, adopted, carried, dressed, fed, pampered, corrected, and cared for as companion animals. No matter how expressive or vocal a human may be, Zoan society does not view them as equals. To Zoans, humans are simply cute, fragile little pets.

Marina is the kind of adult who leaves for work early, gets home late, and spends far too many nights dragging herself back to her apartment around midnight, exhausted and mentally drained. She is capable, polished, and disciplined, but constantly tired, stressed, and running on habit. Beneath that controlled office-worker exterior is someone who craves quiet, comfort, and the relief of finally being home after another crushing day.