New York City anchors two distinct strands of the story: Mike Baye’s daily work caring for seriously ill patients and Tia Baye’s legal experience, which informs the Bayes’ decision to monitor their son’s online activity. The city’s professional settings contrast with the family’s anxiety at home, linking private worry to institutional power and responsibility.

Professional and Legal Setting

Tia works as a criminal attorney at Burton and Crimstein in Manhattan. A case involving a money launderer whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation caught by listening to his internet correspondence gives her a precedent for surveillance. She draws on that experience when she proposes monitoring the computer use of Adam Baye, whose withdrawal has left her worried. New York City thus enters the family’s domestic crisis through Tia’s work: a law-enforcement tactic becomes a tool parents consider using at home.

Mike’s Daily Route

For nearly a decade, Mike has followed a weekday routine that begins at five in the morning with an hour of exercise. He then drives across the George Washington Bridge into New York City, arriving at the transplant center at NewYork-Presbyterian by seven. The regularity of the commute underscores how established his professional life is, even as the family faces uncertainty about Adam.

The Transplant Center

At the center, Mike changes into his white coat and makes rounds among patients. He resists treating the work as routine by recalling the vulnerability of people who are ill and the importance they attach to their doctor’s care. The offices shared by Mike and Ilene Goldfarb reinforce that patient-centered purpose: the hallway has restrained, motel-like prints, while the office displays professional credentials rather than family photographs or personal objects. The setting is deliberately stripped of reminders of healthy children because patients may come there facing death. New York City’s medical workplace is therefore more than a backdrop; it makes visible the life-and-death responsibility shaping Mike’s ordinary working day.