The Light Between Oceans

Tom and Isabel have their first shore leave with Lucy. At first, Isabel is nervous about introducing Lucy to others but when she sees her mother Violet's joy upon meeting her granddaughter, Isabel’s apprehension evaporates.

Violet understands that the pain of losing a child never leaves a woman. Both of her sons, Hugh and Alfie, were killed in the war just three days apart. Isabel feels it is her responsibility never to add to her parents’ pain after that loss. Her parents’ love for Lucy, in Isabel’s mind, confirms that they had done the right thing by keeping the baby.

At a church fundraiser, a volunteer innocently asks Tom if Isabel’s baby is his. He panics, but Isabel stays calm and pretends that she does not notice Tom’s fear.

Isabel visits the doctor to find that she has begun menopause early. She will not be able to have any children of her own. Lucy is the only child she will ever have.

Tom signs on for another three-year stint on Janus. The district officer looks for signs of mercury poisoning, which can infect the brain and make a man lose his mind before allowing Tom to renew his contract.

On the day before their return to Janus, Tom and Isabel celebrate Lucy's christening at the church, where a memorial has recently been erected to honor Franz (Frank) Johannes Roennfeldt and his baby daughter, Grace Ellen. Isabel and Tom know instantly that it is a memorial for the dead man and Lucy.

Ralph's wife, Hilda, recounts the story. Hannah Potts, daughter of the wealthy Septimus Potts, married Frank against her father’s wishes. Septimus and many others believed Frank was German, and anti-German sentiment was fierce as a result of the war. Hannah was cut off from the family fortune.

Soon after the birth of their child, a drunken mob took issue with Frank, who jumped into a rowboat with his infant baby, never to be seen again. Septimus, who had started to warm to Frank after the birth of baby Grace, offered a reward for information of their whereabouts, but to no avail. Hannah, now alone and grieving, never recovered.

Tom wants to tell the truth about Lucy when he hears the story, but Isabel insists that it is too late. Tom is appalled. Individually, Tom and Isabel struggle to reconcile the fact that Hannah believes her husband and daughter to be dead, knowing that Lucy brings the only real joy to Bill and Violet Graysmark have felt since losing their sons.

Isabel insists that they return to Janus to think matters through.

Back on Janus, Isabel argues that they should stay silent for Lucy's sake. Tom says their choice is not fair to Hannah, and Isabel counters that it is not fair that they lost three babies or that Tom came back from the war while Archie and Hugh didn't, a point that strikes Tom where he is most vulnerable.

The setting changes to Point Partageuse, and the reader learns of Hannah's daily pursuit to discover the whereabouts of her husband and daughter. Then one day, Hannah receives an anonymous letter. The letter states that her daughter is safe and her husband is at peace in God’s hands. Septimus and Gwen, Hannah’s sister, believe the letter is a prank played by someone who still harbors anger towards Hannah for marrying Frank. To make Hannah feel better, Septimus offers to double the reward money for anyone with information.

The setting shifts again, this time to Septimus' childhood. He was given up as an orphan by his struggling single mother. Because of his hardworking nature and frugality, he became one of the wealthiest and most revered citizens in Partageuse. He married well and had two daughters. When his wife died suddenly and tragically from a snake bite, Septimus learned that life gives with one hand and takes with the other, a feeling that is reinforced when he reconciles with Hannah, only to have his son-in-law and granddaughter disappear. 

The chapter ends with the perspective of Sergeant Knuckey. Because his wife still grieves the loss of a son, who died twenty years ago, he empathizes with Hannah. He fills out a report on the letter though he believes there is no chance that the baby is alive. 

The chapter flashes back to explain how Frank Roennfeldt and Hannah Potts met and fell in love despite the strong anti-German feelings widespread after World War I. She married him without her father’s blessing and was cut off from her family. Ironically, Frank was not German at all, but Austrian.

They were poor, but happy. After a few years, Hannah and Frank decided that life was certain enough to have a baby. The arrival of their daughter, Grace, prompted a reunion with Septimus at the child’s baptism. Septimus showered the baby with expensive gifts.

On Anzac Day, April 25, 1926, the pubs were full of soldiers, drinking to forget the horrors they experienced at war. When they saw Frank, Hannah, and Grace walking down the street, a mob formed, and the men began taunting Frank, claiming he used to eat babies and they must save the baby from being eaten. Frank fled with Grace as the mob pursued him to the jetty, where he jumped into a rowboat and rowed away from shore to wait for the mob to sober up. While in the dinghy, Frank felt pain shoot down his arm.