Book One, The Cup and The Lip; Chapter 1, On the Look Out; Chapter 2, The Man From Somewhere; Chapter 3, Another Man; and Chapter 4, The R. Wilfer Family Summary

A man, Jessie Hexam or the Gaffer, and his daughter, Lizzie Hexam, are floating in a boat on the Thames River in London, near the London Bridge, in May 1864. They are scouring the river for something. Her father reaches into the river and pulls out some money. He tells her to switch places with him, and she's afraid to sit near something in the boat. Her father chides her for being thankless when the river has given them their livelihood.

In Chapter 2, Mr. and Mrs. Veneering are a married couple living in a...