Summary

The story opens with a paragraph prior to the first chapter. In this paragraph, the narrator states that neurons in Alice's brain were being killed off more than a year before the first outward signs that she has Alzheimer's. In September 2003, Alice Howland is in her bedroom listening to her husband, John, rush around the house in search of his keys. She goes downstairs and finds them for him. This is a normal part of their routine. She recently lost her BlackBerry charger and bought a new one, only to find the old one by her bed. She puts these situations down to their age and busy schedules. Alice is a professor of psychology at Harvard University. John is a professor in the biology department.

Alice arrives at the room where she's supposed to give a presentation at Stanford University and talks with John...