65 pages 2 hours read

Jodi Picoult

Mercy

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1996

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Prologue-Part 1, Chapter 4

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue Summary

Content Warning: This section contains mentions and descriptions of euthanasia.

An unnamed woman (who the novel will later reveal to be Allie MacDonald) packs up and sells everything that belongs to her husband. The only thing she keeps is a gift from him, a panel of stained-glass daffodils over a blue background. She remembers how, when he gave it to her, he warned her to be careful with the fragile object and wonders why she didn’t read the warning. By the time her husband returns from work, all of his things are gone. She waits for him to discover this and then walks into the center of town.

Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Maggie MacDonald makes her husband, James “Jamie” MacDonald, promise that he will kill her, no matter what. He tells her he loves her and then suffocates her with a pillow, keeping his promise despite her struggle in the end.

Thirty-five-year-old Cameron “Cam” Macdonald is the chief of police in Wheelock, Massachusetts. The town is where the descendants of the MacDonald clan from Carrymuir, Scotland, migrated to in the 1700s. Cam is named for the ancestor who was the clan chief or “laird,” who arranged the safe passage of his people to America in exchange for fighting beside Highlanders against the English in the Battle of Culloden.

Related Titles

By Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

A Spark of Light

Jodi Picoult

A Spark of Light

Jodi Picoult

Plot Summary

logo

Between the Lines

Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer

Between the Lines

Jodi Picoult, Samantha van Leer

Study Guide

logo

By Any Other Name

Jodi Picoult

By Any Other Name

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Handle With Care

Jodi Picoult

Handle With Care

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

House Rules

Jodi Picoult

House Rules

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Leaving Time

Jodi Picoult

Leaving Time

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Mad Honey

Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

Mad Honey

Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan

Study Guide

logo

My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult

My Sister's Keeper

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

The Book of Two Ways

Jodi Picoult

The Book of Two Ways

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

The Storyteller

Jodi Picoult

The Storyteller

Jodi Picoult

Plot Summary

logo

The Tenth Circle

Jodi Picoult

The Tenth Circle

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Vanishing Acts

Jodi Picoult

Vanishing Acts

Jodi Picoult

Study Guide

logo

Wish You Were Here

Jodi Picoult

Wish You Were Here

Jodi Picoult