View a FREE sample

Chapter 1

• The narrator, Phillip Carver, begins the story by explaining the problems of being a widower with middle aged children.

• He relates the stories of two elderly men whose middle-aged children interfered with their plans to marry.

• Phillip's father, George Carver, has begun dating two years after the death of his wife.

• Phillip notes that at first, his sisters are happy about this.

• When George announces his engagement, their tone changes into that of concern.

• His sisters, Betsy and Josephine, call Phillip and ask him to come to Memphis

• Phillip leaves his Manhattan apartment he has shared for twelve years with Holly Kaplan.

• Holly has moved out of the apartment two days earlier.
• Phillip explains that in order to understand Father's current situation, one must understand the history of how the family settled in Memphis.

• The story begins with a betrayal by Father's business partner Lewis Shackleford.

• It...

(read more Chapter Abstracts)

This section contains 1,756 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample