She bends over to tie the shoe. Another noise comes from behind. This time when she looks, car lights surface on the horizon, going way too fast. There’s no time to hide.
-- Narrator (“Prologue”)

Importance: The action begins to rise right away in this novel as Shelby is hit by a car and killed. Based on the information the reader has been given so far, the reader insinuates that Shelby’s jealous husband decided to kill her because she went out to meet a lover.

I could give myself up and go back to living in that dungeon of theirs with Gus, but I can’t. One of us has got to live through this ordeal and tell the rest of the world where we’ve been all this time. For Gus’s sake, now more than ever, I’ve got to live.
-- Narrator (“Delilah”)

Importance: Delilah is upset because Gus falls behind her and...