Summary

Chapter 1 opens in Berlin, Germany. Robert Prowe is a writer from England who has now resided in Germany for years. He is married to a German woman and has two young daughters. Robert works as a fiction writer, but he has not produced a book in years. One day, Robert goes to a bookstore in Berlin to attend a fiction reading. Also in attendance is a drunken Englishman whom Robert has never met before. The introduces himself to Robert, saying that he is also a writer. Robert leaves after the reading, disliking the reading and the drunken man in attendance. Later that night, Robert is walking down a sidewalk with his wife, Karijn Jonsson, when he notices the drunken man from before. The man has accidentally picked a fight with a stranger, who is now poised to physically attack the man. Robert and Karijn...