Summary

In Part One, “Remittance/1912,” Chapter 1, an 18-year-old man named Edwin St. John St. Andrew is on a ship to Canada from England. Edwin is an ancestor of William the Conqueror, and his father is a future earl, but Edwin's older brother Gilbert will inherit the family's estate.

In Chapter 2, Edwin arrives in Halifax and rents a room at a boardinghouse. He is feeling uncertain about his future plans until he meets a man named Reginald, who is heading to Saskatchewan to buy a farm. Edwin accompanies him and they discuss farming.

In Chapter 3, a month later, Edwin leaves the farm to meet a friend of his brother Niall's, Thomas, in Victoria.

In Chapter 4, Edwin recalls a recent dinner party at his parents' home in England, attended by his parents' friends, the Barretts. Edwin's parents were born and raised by...