Chapters 1-5 Summary

In Chapter 1, Guy Haines is on a train from New York to see his wife, Miriam, in Metcalf, Texas. Miriam has become pregnant by her lover, which gives Guy hope that she wants to move ahead with the divorce. Guy, a successful architect, is looking forward to a job in Florida, and to being able to begin planning his life with Anne, his own lover. It has been more than a year since Guy has been waiting for a divorce. A blonde man sits down opposite Guy, who introduces himself as Charles Anthony Bruno from Long Island. As the train passes into Texas, the two men begin talking. Bruno reveals he will be heading to Sante Fe for a vacation, and his mother will be joining him in a few days. Bruno, who is twenty-five, is from a wealthy Great Neck...