Part 1, Chapter 1 Summary

Charles Wychwood goes to an antique store to sell some classic books on flutes to help his family through a tight financial situation. While attempting to talk the owner of the store into giving him more for the books than she thinks they are worth, Charles spots a painting abandoned in a corner. Charles rescues the painting from its hiding place and studies it, suddenly fascinated by the mysterious man it portrays. Forgetting about his family's precarious financial state, Charles trades the books for the portrait.

At home, Charles finds his son waiting for him on the front stoop, unable to go inside since he gave his keys to his father the day before because he had lost his own. Edward, Charles's son, does not share his father's fascination with the painting. Despite his father's belief that the portrait is some...