Chapter 1, Asian Rumours Summary and Analysis

Michael wakes up at a friend's house in winter near Lake Ontario, but had been dreaming of his return to his home of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He was planning his journey back there in his mind and was doing the same two months later. Michael would return to the family he grew up with, having realized that his childhood had passed him by and he didn't understand it.

In "Jaffna Afternoons", it is 2:15 in the afternoon. Michael is in the old governor's home in Jaffna. The house was built in 1700, a prize building in Northern Ceylon. He had spent the morning with his sister and Aunt Phyllis to trace their ancestry. He loves his aunt because she was close to his father. The afternoon will proceed in much the same way, with stories of Michael's family...