Summary

Manhattan – It is November. Quentin and Alice are living in New York. Brakebills already seems a lifetime ago. All graduated magicians have their financial needs taken care of, courtesy of a slush fund at Brakebills. Quentin and Eliot hit up the night life, doing drugs and partying until dawn. Each time Quentin gets home, he feels horrible about what he has done, but knows he would be bored otherwise. Alice does not participate in, or approve of Quentin’s lifestyle. At a dinner party, a man named Richard appears – the only one of them to have successfully moved into professional wizardry, in the financial community. He is also a committed Christian, rare among magicians. That night, Quentin sleeps with Janet.

Penny’s Story – Penny shows up the next morning, having unset the defensive spells around the apartment. He explains he has dropped out...