Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 1 begins on a Sunday and establishes the main timeline of the remainder of the novel. Ten and a half years have passed since the birth of VJ.

Marsha reflects on the death of David, five years earlier, from a rare form of liver cancer. After David's death, Janice became mentally unstable, claiming she was being poisoned. Then, Janice also died of the same rare form of liver cancer. Epidemiological investigations concluded the two cases were a freak occurrence, and not connected.

Marsha, a child psychiatrist, also reflects on VJ's personality. She finds his advanced maturity difficult to accept, but what particularly bothers her is VJ's apparent lack of emotion. During a dinnertime conversation, Marsha urges VJ to spend more time with school friends, but VJ prefers to spend his time at Victor's lab. Victor sides with VJ, and VJ continues to spend...