Summary

In Chapter 1, Vivian Lawlor returns to the house of her great-aunt Maud, who has recently passed away. She takes note of the place, particularly how many chairs there are, then opens the lid of the urn. Looking through her aunt's address book, she starts writing letters to all the people listed informing them of the death of her great-aunt, including some of her ashes in the envelope. She spots a map of Dublin on a bookshelf and writes down names which sound otherworldly, imagining the name of one place sending her to another world, and believing that her parents tried to exchange her when she was a child, then leaves the house. After sharing an exchange with a man at the bus stop about how cold it is outside, she passes a shoe shop and sits on a bench looking across the river...