Prologue: Chapters 1-2 Summary

Maggie Bradford is a popular singer who has been accused of murdering her second husband. During the pretrial publicity, it comes out that Maggie shot her first husband in a domestic dispute and that her lover died alone, on a boat, with only Maggie as a witness. Maggie is writing down her story to clarify to herself the idea that she might be capable of murder.

In chapter one, Maggie and her three-year-old child, Jennie, are hiding under the porch of their home, listening to Maggie's husband, Philip, search the house for them. Philip, a teacher at West Point, has many guns in the house and Maggie is frightened for her life. Maggie holds a hand lightly over her daughter's mouth, begging her to remain quiet. After several hours, however, this becomes impossible and Jennie cries out. Philip finds...