Summary

In Chapter 1, Alice Scott, a journalist for The Scratch, travels to Little Crescent Island, Georgia, to interview Margaret Grace Ives, a reclusive heiress. Alice is in hopes of obtaining a potential book project. She steadies her nerves by recalling that there are “always three versions of [stories]: yours, mine, and the truth” (Henry 5).

Jodi, an older and curt woman, answers the door and leads Alice inside before going to fetch Margaret. Alice studies the house and notices that nothing links it to the famous Ives family. Margaret enters and greets Alice with warmth and curiosity. Alice outlines a plan for a biography built on direct observation and honest dialogue. Margaret challenges her by asking what will happen if she wants to expose “the whole awful truth” rather than her own version of events (8). Alice promises to follow Margaret’s wishes and keep the...