Summary

Chapter 1 opens in 1938 as the small town of Macedonia, WV celebrates its sesquicentennial. Willa Romeyn is 12 years old when everything begins; this is when she first hears of Layla Beck, wonders about her father, and notices that she is being lied to. While Willa and Aunt Jottie watch the parade, Jottie explains that the town's founder, General Magnus Hamilton, named the town after the Macedonian virtues of ferocity and devotion, causing Willa to question whether she possesses those virtues. When Sol McKubin stops to speak to Jottie, Willa wonders why her aunt blushes, but she enjoys feeling like Jottie's confidante as her aunt shares the history of the people they encounter. They run into Mr. Tare Russell who questions Jottie about her brother, Felix, who is Willa's father, but Willa is upset when Jottie mentions that they are getting a new boarder. Jottie...