Summary

In Chapter 1, in June of 1957 the North Kent Echo published a piece on parthenogenesis. A recent study argued that if some animals could reproduce asexually, “there was no reason it should not be possible in humans” (3). In response to the piece, Gretchen Tilbury wrote a reply to the paper, insisting her daughter had been born “without the involvement of any man” (4, Chambers’ italics).

At the editorial meeting, Jean Swinney’s editor Roy Drake gave her the assignment. She would investigate the truth of Gretchen’s claim. For the remainder of the day, Jean worked on her Household Hints and Marriage Lines columns (6).

Jean returned home after work. She lived with her ailing and grouchy mother, who announced a letter from Jean’s sister Dorrie who lived in Kenya with her family. Jean rubbed at a blood stain on her blouse. The liver she...