Summary

Olivia, Lucy, and Francis relax at the cottage at Howorth. Olivia recounts Lucy’s recent surgery, during which doctors removed a sample of her tumor. At the hospital, Lucy experiences a “deluge of anxiety” (100) prior to the biopsy. Olivia’s brother Charlie, who once dated Lucy and continues to have romantic feelings for her, brings a bottle of champagne for them to enjoy before the procedure. Lucy, having decamped to Howorth in order to recover, feels like “a wounded animal” (104). A helicopter suddenly arrives on the property; Hunter enters the cottage bearing lunch. As they eat, Olivia and Hunter discuss the lack of evidence showing that “genes on their own cause schizophrenia” (108). Francis later takes Hunter on a tour of Howorth. Hunter seems excited by the concept of wilding. He invites Francis, Olivia, and Lucy to a party in the South of France...