Part One: Prologue, Chapters 1 & 2 Summary

The prologue begins on the 27 April 1926. Tom and Isabel Sherbourne live in a lighthouse on Janice Rock in Australia. On this particular day, the "day of the miracle," Isabel has followed the sound of an infant crying to discover a shipwrecked boat on her shore. She calls for her husband Tom, the lighthouse keeper, and they help pull the boat further ashore. Aboard is a wailing infant, wrapped in its mother's cardigan, and a dead man. Isabel quickly takes the baby inside, bathes her, and gives her a bottle of milk. Even though Tom wants to alert the mainland immediately, Isabel convinces him that the baby has been through enough today, and he should wait a few hours before snatching her from safety again. As Tom leaves the room, he hears his wife singing lullabies to the...