Summary

In Chapter 17, Fife speaks to Emma about ideas of childhood and innocence. Fife says that, in order to confess and atone for one’s sins, one must trace their life back to the moment when they first had an awareness of ethics and morality. Malcolm then mentions a documentary that Fife made about a Catholic bishop in Canada who was arrested for possession of child pornography. He was found guilty, but the judge handed down the lightest possible sentence, giving the bishop probation and no jail time. A spectator of the trial began angrily screaming when the sentence was read. The screaming man said that, when he was a child, he was raped by a priest. The man was removed form the court before the judge continued reading the sentence.

In Chapter 18, Fife continues talking about his past. He recalls when he and Nick...