Summary

Chapter 1 begins in September of 1785 in London as Jonah Hancock, a merchant son of a merchant’s son (3), waits in his counting house for the ship he funded to return from its voyage. Jonah’s cat annoys him and he thinks of his dead son, whose ghost he sees, and his wife, whose ghost he does not see. Mrs. Lippard, Mr. Hancock’s sister, and her daughter, Sukie take care of the widower. He feels anxious for the ship’s arrival because he feels it has a special cargo that will “change everything” (9).

In Chapter 2, the third person narrative travels to the dressing table of Angelica Neal, a courtesan who has just returned to London after the death of her lover who left her penniless and unprotected. Mrs. Frost, a judgmental servant, helps Angelica get dressed. Mrs. Frost swept the halls at...