Summary

The untitled section prior to Chapter 1, is a portion of 43-year-old Susan’s novel. In these scenes, Susan visits Massachusetts, finds her father's parole officer's office, and goes to a cafe. She watches everyone who passes looking for her father, Daniel Ahearn. Finally she sees a man she knows is him. She throws up in the bathroom.

In Chapter 1, the narrative moves to 68-year-old Daniel caning chairs. He has not seen Susan in 40 years and thinks about all he wants to tell her. Growing up, Daniel went by Danny. He and his late wife Linda were both amusement park kids. Linda's parents Lois and Gerry Dubie, and her brother Paul never liked Danny because they felt he did not deserve Linda. Now Daniel lives in a trailer on a piece of property in the woods. "He was paroled twenty-five years ago," but still...