Summary

In Chapter 1, Dorrigo is in Adelaide in 1940. He is in the military and awaiting his next assignment. His Uncle Keith Mulvaney owns a pub near the coast and invites Dorrigo to visit. Dorrigo plans to visit Keith but winds up in a bookstore instead. There, he sees Amy Mulvaney for the first time. She is Keith's second wife and is much younger than her husband. Dorrigo is involved with a young Melbourne teacher named Ella. Her family is prominent in the Melbourne society and Dorrigo sees her as secure. While Dorrigo is thinking about Ella, Amy approaches him. Dorrigo doesn't learn that she is Keith's wife until later. In Chapter 2, Amy approaches Dorrigo. The fact that she has a captivated following makes Dorrigo determined that she won't captivate him. Despite that, he comments on a camellia blossom and she admits that she...