Part 1, Chapter 1, 1932 Summary

Mary Adare. Mary looks for Karl behind her and finds him gone at the same instant she hears the train whistle. Mary realizes that Karl has left her and she feels weak without someone to care for. Although Karl is older, Mary has always been the strong one.

Mary reflects on her past, about the house where her family once lived on the edge of Prairie Lake. The house is isolated and they rarely have visitors except for Mr. Ober. Mr. Ober would often come to visit a couple of times a week, cheering their mother. Mary likes Mr. Ober for that reason, but Karl does not. Karl finds the article in the newspaper about how Mr. Ober died in a grain-loading accident. Adelaide, their mother, becomes upset, telling the children that Mr. Ober was their father. Everything Adelaide has is...