Summary

The novel opens with a scene from Elaine Risley’s adolescent years, when her brother Stephen tries to explain time as a dimension that can be manipulated the same as space, if we knew enough. Elaine shares her version of the discussion with her friend Cordelia, who is not impressed. They are both around thirteen years old, people-watching on a streetcar.

In a transition to current times, a grown-up, middle-aged Elaine is walking around Toronto, feeling more sympathetic toward the women they used to mock. She wonders about Cordelia, and what might have become of her. As she walks, she notices how much the city has changed, and she begins to feel some signs of anxiety.

Analysis

The first two chapters of the novel give the reader a vague idea of what Elaine will be dealing with. The brief discussion she has with her brother...