Old-time friends Marwan (Lebanese-American) and Abdul (Pakistani-American) sit down for a match of chess in Washington Square Park in lower Manhattan. On this day, a murder has occurred at Penn Station, causing a total shutdown of trains and the cancellation of Abdul’s travel plans to the Catskills, where he had planned to attend a memorial service for his late wife, Bahar, who was also murdered. Perched on Marwan’s shoulder is Haqi the Parrot, who keeps interrupting the two with what they both dismiss as non-sensical words. But nothing is as it seems when Haqi finally reveals the shocking truth.