Summary

In Chapter 1, Gwendy Peterson, a congresswoman, wakes early on December 16, 1999, and jogs around Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall. She and her parents had visited the Mall when she was a child, but she had never dreamed she would work there.

In Chapter 2, Gwendy greets Harold, the security guard who scans her identity badge. He asks about Gwendy’s husband, Ryan. She replies she hopes he will be home in time for Christmas.

In Chapter 3, in her office, Gwendy scans a newspaper article her mother has sent her. There have still been no signs found of Carla Hoffman or Rhonda Tomlinson, two teenage girls who disappeared days apart.

In Chapter 4, the narrator describes Gwendy’s past achievements in the present tense. Gwendy graduates from Brown University and then attends the Iowa Writers Workshop. After the workshop, she gets a tattoo of a feather...