On the twelfth night since my ex-husband escaped prison, I am in bed. Not sleeping.
-- Narrator - Gwen (Chapter 1)

Importance: The author sets the tone of the novel by telling the reader right away that Gwen’s ex-husband has escaped from prison. Gwen is so tense and stressed by the situation that she is unable to sleep.

My husband had help — help manipulating us, help abducting my children— and Absalom was that help . . . a master hacker who manipulated me into the trap Melvin had planned for him.
-- Narrator - Gwen (Chapter 1)

Importance: Gwen introduces Absalom in this quote as a person she believed was helping her and her children stay safe. She came to learn that he was actually working with her husband, luring them into a place where he could best manipulate them. In this novel, it is learned that Absalom is an entity of hackers, blackmailers, and computer artists against whom Gwen must fight to find her ex-husband...