Summary

After publishing her first book, Li sends a thank you note to author William Trevor. He responds and she frames the letter to hang in her study. This connection raises the possibility of the two writers meeting and when Li travels to London, to writes to Trevor about the possibility of visiting him. Li then digresses to write about her efforts to avoid isolation. After she left the hospital, she agreed to give up the possibility of disappearing from the world. This prompts her to reflect on how easily it was for people to disappear in the past compared to in the interconnected modern world. She tells the story of an uncle who vanished just before the Chinese Communist victory over the Nationalist army and who didn't reappear until forty years later. Li's first planned meeting with Trevor falls through and Li...