Twelve-year-old Dexter Foreman is playing bingo in the community room at The Pines Retirement Village, where he has lived with his 76-year-old grandmother Adele (“Grandma”) since he was six. He is one number away from winning the largest prize jar in months when the game erupts into chaos. The commotion stops when Grandma arrives with Sergeant Kurtz, a truancy officer.

In the foyer, Kurtz asks why Dexter does not attend school. Grandma explains that Dexter’s parents work abroad as a diplomat and financier and that Dexter receives an excellent education from The Pines residents, including best-selling author Phyllis Birdwell and Leo Preminger, a 99-year-old World War II codebreaker from the elite Bunker Boys unit. Kurtz insists that the law requires Dexter to attend school. Dexter defends his situation, mentioning his friend Teagan Santoro and his comfort with older people.

Kurtz orders Dexter to board the school bus on Monday morning to attend Wolf’s Eye Middle School (WEMS). Grandma argues that homeschooling is legal, but Kurtz has his orders. Back in the community room, the caller announces “I-19,” the number Dexter needed. Multiple voices call “bingo,” and Dexter loses.