A young boy named Rob Dibb spends his afternoons in the basement apartment of his grandfather, Silas. While Silas reads from a book about train disasters and listens to Helen Reddy records, Rob draws pictures of space in notebooks that Silas provides for him. During one visit, Silas gives him the nickname “Cricket.” Rob’s mother, June, has an abusive boyfriend named Robert. To distinguish himself from Robert, Rob decides he wants everyone to call him “Cricket.” 

Later, an agitated Robert comes home searching for aspirin. Cricket avoids him in the basement, but when he goes upstairs to fill a watering can, he witnesses Robert physically assaulting June in the kitchen.

On the first day of spring, Cricket discovers that Silas has died. Silas’s basement room is quickly dismantled, leaving Cricket’s own notebooks missing. His Aunt Paige returns them weeks later, claiming she took them by mistake. 

Robert, who was scarce after Silas’s death, reappears in May. To avoid him, Cricket spends his afternoons riding his bike. One day, he is stopped at a wooden bridge by two teenagers: A boy named Ray and a girl with golden eyes, who recognizes Cricket as a talented artist from her school.