Summary

The Prologue opens with an unnamed first-person narrator stating that if they “leave this house, it will be in handcuffs” (1). The narrator is talking with a cop when another cop asks him to come look at something.

Part 1 begins three months earlier. Chapter 1 is narrated by Millie who is interviewing with Nina Winchester for a live-in housekeeper position. Millie’s internal monologue is nervous about what Nina knows about Millie because Millie has been in prison. Millie is overwhelmed by the size of Nina’s house and the wealth of the Winchester family. Millie regards herself as looking “profession and utterly unattractive” (5), wearing fake glasses and dressing dowdy. Millie notes the mess around the house while Nina talks about not having enough time. Nina explains about the room in the attic where Millie would live. The room is sparse and tiny. Millie...