Summary

In Chapter 1, Kendra drives up to an English cottage where she is to interview Isabel MacFarland, a survivor of the London Blitz. It is the same day Isabel’s family will celebrate her ninety-third birthday. The housekeeper, Beryl Avery, greets Kendra at the door. Beryl tells Kendra she’s surprised Isabel had agreed to talk to Kendra about her experiences as she had turned down interviews in the past.

Isabel excuses Beryl from the room and asks her to close the door so she and Kendra can speak in private. Isabel asks about Kendra’s background and learns she is a history major. Kendra tells Isabel she doesn’t understand why someone couldn’t be interested in history, a record not only of what happened, but also how it made a person feel. Isabel asks Kendra her age and senses it...