Summary

The Prologue describes the feeling that something terrible will happen. No matter how one prepares, they are never ready.

Part One: :A Swarm of Bees in the Carcass of a Lion opens" with Chapter One: "The Mackenzies Are Here." In Fraser's Ridge, North Carolina, the narrator Claire and family meet around a fire. Her husband, Jamie, seems happy to be with their daughter, Brianna, her husband, Roger, and their children Mandy and Jem. Roger announces that they are home for good and Clare is relieved. Everyone in the settlement is fascinated by their arrival, though Claire is not certain why they returned. Jamie proudly points out the foundations of the New House and Bree gives him a black chisel to use on the hearth. She wishes they could have built the house before winter, but Jamie is happy the family is...