Chapter 1 Summary

It is the year 2005 in New Orleans. Marguerite (Maggie) is a college student. She attends Tulane University as a law student and studies with a group of her rich, snooty friends. Her father is the senator of Louisiana, and her mother is a Cajun woman who commits suicide to escape the life of wife of a senator.

Marguerite D'Aubert Goudeau has a very dear friend named Nick Gautier. Nick's mother was murdered six months ago, and Nick is missing. The police think that Nick has something to do with his mother's murder, but Marguerite knows better. She knows that he loves his mother more than anything. She thinks that he went off to find the murderer(s) and got killed himself.

Marguerite and her friends study four days a week together. They are law students. Marguerite misses studying with Nick. She and her...