Lorin Jones has been dead for years when the novel opens, so the reader must learn about her from the people Polly Alter interviews. A consequence of this technique is that the reader has only fragmented glimpses into Lorin's life. The "truth" of Lorin Jones, thus, is never satisfactorily realized. For example, Polly discovers that Lorin briefly disappeared as a child. When she was found, her panties were missing although she did not appear molested.

People who knew Lorin felt that this incident affected her personality, but it is not clear to what degree and in what way. The people that Polly interviews also agree that Lorin maintained a distance in her relationships with others, but they provide different explanations for that distance. Some refer to her single-minded obsession with her art; others refer to her shyness; still others refer to her arrogance. The reader learns interesting facts...