Summary

In Part I, "We Three," Dara and Marie Durant had been dancers their whole lives. Their mother established The Durant School of Dance in 1986. After the twins' parents died in a car accident 12 years ago, Dara and Marie inherited the school.

The "Durant family had always been exotic to others" (4). Their parents took them out of school when they were young. Then one year one of the Durant School dancers, Charlie, moved in with the Durants after his mother moved overseas. Charlie was "their mother's prize student" and "surrogate son" (6). Now he was "Dara's husband" (6).

The three lived and ran the school together. Dara and Marie taught, and Charlie ran the office. Things were going well between them until the fire.

In "The Hammer," Dara woke from a strange dream, suddenly worried about Marie. When Dara arrived at the school, parents and children...