Preface through Chapter 5 Summary

Preface: The inspiration for this story was a line from Dante's Purgatorio which was interpreted for the author by a young with whom he was staying in Florence. She tells the story of a woman who committed adultery and was taken to a castle filled with noxious vapors he had hoped would kill her. When she survived for a good while, he threw her out the window and killed her.

Chapter 1: Kitty and Charlie are in the midst of an adulterous rendezvous at her home in Hong Kong. This was a common occurrence for them, but Charlie had decided to come over at an abnormal time. Kitty is scared because someone tried to open the door to the bedroom they are in and fears it is her husband, but Charlie reassures her that it is one of the Chinese...