Part One: The Harralsons, Chapters 1 and 2 Summary

Colquitt's friend and neighbor Claire Swanson is the one who tells Colquitt the lot next door to Colquitt's house has been sold. Although Colquitt loves the lot next door to her house, she and husband Walter did not buy it because they had been told no architect had figured out how to build a house on the unusually shaped lot. They instead bought the lot next door and enjoyed the privacy and beauty that the empty, wooded lot provided them. The Kennedy's bedroom, their patio and a room to be used as Colquitt's future office all face this lot. Although it has been said no one could build a house on this lot, Roger, Claire's husband, has seen the plans for the new house. Colquitt is unhappy with the idea there will be...