Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual content and physical abuse.

Twenty-one-year-old Scarlett Vandermeer celebrates her birthday with her Stanford diving team, Penelope (Pen) Ross, Bree, Bella, and Victoria. Scarlett is enjoying herself until Pen reveals that she and her longtime boyfriend Lukas Blomqvist have a boring sex life. Scarlett is shocked because they’ve been together so long—Lukas is a Swedish Olympic swimming champion, and Pen is beautiful, charming, and everyone’s friend. Pen admits that she and Lukas don’t like the same things in bed; he doesn’t force her to do things she doesn’t want to do, but she wishes their dynamic was different. Convinced the topic has nothing to do with her, Scarlett dismisses the conversation, unaware that everything will soon change.

Scarlett starts therapy with Sam shortly before the start of her junior year. After her injury during the NCAA championship two years ago, Scarlett saw a licensed sports psychologist through Stanford Athletics but recently switched to Sam to get a different perspective. Scarlett starts by telling Sam about diving, explaining five of the six main dives and omitting the dive she did when she hurt herself.