The novel continues in the narrative present. In Brisbane, Jess’s mother, Polly, receives a phone call informing her of Nora’s death. She only found out the day before that Nora was in the hospital, thanks to Mrs. Robinson’s call, in which the housekeeper also revealed that Jess has returned to Australia and is looking into the Halcyon tragedy.

Nora told Polly about the tragedy 10 years ago, when Polly announced her engagement to Jonathan James. Polly planned to move to America with him; his father was a famous senator. Upon hearing of Polly’s plans, Nora protested that her daughter was not strong enough to move so far from home and become part of such a public family. When Polly resisted those pressures, Nora told her the Halcyon story and convinced her to break the engagement so as not to bring the scandal into Jonathan’s family.

At the time, Polly argued with Nora, protesting that no one in America would have heard of the tragedy, but Nora told Polly about the success of Daniel Miller’s book. In the end, Polly broke the engagement without telling Jonathan the true reason, and two weeks after he left, she discovered that she was pregnant.