Book 1, Proof of Identity: Chapters 1-3 Summary

Philippa Palfrey was adopted when she was eight. Philippa has few memories of the time before her adoption. Philippa has often fantasized about her biological parents' love affair and finding her biological father.

In chapter one, Philippa visits a social worker and arranges to file under a new law to get her original birth certificate in order to learn the identity of her birth parents. Philippa was adopted at the age of eight, but she is not close to her adoptive parents. In fact, Philippa often feels like a burden to her adoptive parents, especially her adoptive father—a brilliant sociologist who often makes Philippa feel like a social experiment. The social worker approves Philippa's petition for the birth certificate and explains how she can go about receiving it. Philippa quickly sends...