Summary

The work begins in the present day, with a group of weekend sailors observing the Milton vacation home on Crockett Island in Maine in ruins. There are rumors that the island is owned by "one of those tragic families" and "somebody drowned" (2). The first titled section of the work, "The Anchoress" introduces the Milton family beginning with Kitty and Ogden Milton; the year is 1935. Kitty and Ogden feel as though they are on the cusp of possibility as they have married well, both in terms of lineage and love. Kitty is in New York with their three young children: five-year-old Neddy, three-year-old Moss, and one year-old Joan. Ogden is in Germany, pursuing lucrative business contracts with Walser Steel. Then tragedy strikes when Neddy falls to his death from a New York City window. Ogden returns to find a grief-stricken, withdrawn Kitty who is...