The Poppies of Lethe Summary

Anna makes her own "tincture" using honey and the poppy resin for the pleasant dreams. When Anna wakes, she is much calmer than before. She is glad shehas more with which to face the despair in her life. Sally Maston, her neighbor's five-year old, appears bloodied from plague sores. At Sally's cottage, her mother lies dead, her father is close to death, while a baby cries. By sunset, four families are affected by death. Mompellion tends the dying, while Elinor and Anna help the orphaned children. Anna learns that Lib Hancock is dying and goes to see her, but Lib is too far gone and dies without an exchange of words.

Anna drinks the last of the poppy mixture and has another magical dream and wakes feeling serene until she realizes she has no more poppies. She...