Summary

Emery Staines buys Anna Wetherell for the night so that he can spend time with her. He wants her to know that he is in love with her. Buying her is the only way that he can spend time with her since she is a prostitute. This is the night when he will disappear and Anna will be found lying half-dead in the middle of the road to the Arahura Valley.

The two have a connection that they cannot explain. Anna sees this night as the beginning of their relationship. They are able to spend time together and get to know one another. Emery sees the beginning of their relationship as when they shared the spotting of the albatrosses on the ship as they approached Dunedin. It is a moment that only they witnessed. It was their first connection.

They know that they...