Part I, Page 1-53 Summary

Jory begins the story by saying what he knows as fact that his mother has been married three times, that his father is Julian Marquet, that his half-brother Bart's father is Dr. Paul Sheffield, and that his mother's current husband is Chris. Jory's grandmother is known in the ballet world as Madame Marisha and Jory and his family visit her each summer. Jory arrives at home after school to find Emma, the family's cook and friend, in the kitchen. Emma says that she is constantly "anticipating" what Bart might next find to spill or drop and that she's thankful that Bart and Jory spend so much time "on that wall."

The wall is a boundary between Jory's home and the abandoned mansion next door where Jory and Bart often play though they aren't supposed to go inside...