The Summer Wives

In May 1969, Miranda Thomas (formerly Schuyler) returns to Winthrop Island for the first time in 18 years. She has a black eye and facial bruises, which she claims are from a car accident. Having missed the last ferry from New London, she hires a fisherman to carry her across from Stonington; he informs her that the Fleet Rock lighthouse is now kept by old Mrs. Vargas, whose husband has died. The trip brings back memories of her youth, and she contemplates the letter from her mother in her pocketbook and a woman from her past named Isobel.

Miranda bribes the fisherman to keep quiet about her presence before parting ways with him. Miranda stops at the local general store, where the owner, Mrs. Medeiro, recognizes her despite the years, and Miranda says she’s there to surprise her family. Mrs. Medeiro’s daughter, Laura, is starstruck by Miranda’s acting career. As Mrs. Medeiro drives Miranda to Greyfriars, she notes that the house now takes in boarders—an “artist colony.” During the drive, they also discuss the recent prison escape of Joseph Vargas, Mrs. Medeiro’s grandson, whom Miranda had written to many times without response.