Summary

Chapter One

The main protagonist, Will Everett, is getting off a train with his mother. Will and his mother have arrived at an unnamed train station, unofficially called “Farewell” by the train conductor. Will meets a circus girl who notices his drawings, commenting on how good of an artist he is. Will reveals that he and his mother have come to Farewell to meet his father, who worked at the nearby rail camp. It has been three years since Will has last seen his father, but the two stay in touch by letters. Will shows her a Sasquatch tooth that his father sent along with one of the others. She seems amused by it and tells Will to come visit her at the circus, giving him a special phrase he can use to get in for free.

Will realizes that she left with...