While driving to Cape Cod, Orion listens to a radio interview about great white sharks. He frames the trip as an opportunity for self-care and for considering new career paths. Orion reflects on his decision to pursue psychology, including his work counseling adolescents at a state hospital. He recalls a former patient, Siobhan, who flirted with him after her release and repeatedly contacted him until he agreed to meet her. Although she attempted to initiate a sexual relationship, Orion refused and cut off contact, though the memory continues to surface in fantasy.

He thought he saw Siobhan again years later, but the woman was someone else—Annie, his “second red-haired damsel in distress” (101). He remembers helping her when her car broke down and reflects on how far she has come as an artist. As he considers his own stalled career, he recalls creative figures in his family, including a grandfather who sculpted a dolphin for him, and briefly imagines alternative futures for himself.

The past year weighs heavily on Orion. Following the finalization of his divorce in January, he learned he would not receive a long-promised promotion. He withdrew socially, resisting encouragement from his daughter Marissa to date. In March, a patient accused him of sexual harassment. Although Orion admits to professional misconduct, he insists the encounter was initiated by the patient. Shortly afterward, another patient died by suicide, a memory Orion avoids confronting. He has let his professional license lapse.

Traffic and radio commentary punctuate Orion’s reflections. A call-in segment about familial sexual abuse provokes his anger and leads him to think about his father, who abandoned him before his birth. Orion recalls learning about his father’s identity shortly before his mother’s death and, earlier, accompanying her on attempts to extract financial support from his paternal grandfather.

The shark interview resumes, and Orion becomes irritated by the radio host’s dismissive tone toward the female expert. As she describes sharks as ambush hunters, Orion thinks of Viveca and then of Annie’s artistic process, which Annie once described as compulsive. He recalls his skepticism toward her work; he questioned both its artistic legitimacy and whether it reflected underlying tendencies toward mental illness. He admits that he knew little about Annie’s past and wonders whether she has shared more of herself with Viveca than she ever did with him.

Orion continues revisiting moments from his marriage: his discomfort with the increasingly dark content of Annie’s art, her exhaustion as a stay-at-home mother, and a traumatic incident in which their son Andrew was injured under a sitter’s care, leading hospital staff to suspect abuse. He also recalls Annie’s intense reaction to seeing his former wife at his mother’s funeral, acknowledging both his frustration and his inability to provide support due to professional demands.

He remembers encouraging Annie to enter an art competition she ultimately won. The success led to a restaurant exhibition. His understanding of Annie’s work shifted after reading a magazine article that characterized her art as angry, prompting a confrontation in which Annie accused him of failing to truly see her. The article also referenced Josephus Jones, whose paintings Annie insisted on keeping despite Orion’s discomfort. Counseling temporarily stabilized the marriage, but the progress dissolved when Annie became pregnant with Marissa.

Orion’s attention returns fully to the radio, the shark interview concluding as he continues his drive toward Cape Cod.

Annie spends the day at home while Viveca is away. She secretly gives extra money to their housekeeper, Minnie, despite Viveca’s objections. With Viveca gone, Annie grows closer to Minnie. They eat lunch together while watching The Jerry Springer Show, which Annie finds racist and exploitative, though Minnie enjoys it. Minnie smokes in the apartment, something Annie hides from Viveca, and Annie begins smoking, too. As Minnie becomes more open, she shares details of her life as a single mother struggling financially, including her son’s asthma, unreliable childcare, and medical expenses. Annie learns that Minnie drinks while working, but she chooses not to intervene as long as the household functions and Viveca remains unaware.

Minnie recounts an incident in which she struck her son, Africa, after he endangered himself, triggering Annie’s memories of having hit Andrew. Annie reflects on the secrecy surrounding that abuse and her fear of being found out. She worries that harm may come to Andrew, now serving in the military, as retribution for her past actions, and she prays for his safety.

Annie sees and avoids an email from Viveca about their honeymoon in Mykonos and signing a prenuptial agreement delivered by Viveca’s lawyer. Despite Viveca’s assurances that their assets are shared, Annie remains uneasy about the life she is entering.

Orion recalls how Annie “migrated to Manhattan” (154). At first, he tried to dissuade her. He then suggested moving with her, but Annie rejected the idea, explaining that she wanted to work without responsibility for anyone else and that she would be staying with a friend, Viveca. Annie moved to New York, and Orion continued seeing her on weekends. In retrospect, he recognizes that he was in “denial” about Annie’s fidelity. Their separation began on a Sunday when Orion asked whether Annie still wanted to remain married, and she admitted her uncertainty. After Orion calmed down, Annie disclosed her affair with Viveca. He connects this moment to an earlier memory of Annie walking out of a screening of Natural Born Killers, noting that he allowed her to leave the theater alone while he minimized the film’s violence; he now believes he should have followed her.

Orion then reflects on his “early retirement,” the euphemism used by the director, Muriel, to manage the optics of his resignation. Although he had once respected Muriel, he came to see her as abusing her authority after she became his supervisor. Following the accusation against him, most colleagues distanced themselves, with the exception of Dick Holloway, whom Orion describes as a “good ole boy” (163). Soon afterward, his patient Seamus McAvoy died by suicide, a loss Orion partially blames himself for, believing he missed clear warning signs. He recalls calling his children in the aftermath, though he told only Ariane about Seamus and never disclosed the accusation involving the other patient, Jasmine. The combined weight of the allegation and the suicide led Orion to abandon his career in psychology, after which his workplace suppressed the incident.

After resigning, Orion read Walden and became committed to simplifying his life. He sold the family home and moved into a small apartment downtown but, finding the arrangement unsatisfying, decided to relocate again, eventually settling on Cape Cod. Although he declined Viveca’s initial offer of the use of her house, he later accepted. While driving, Orion passes a shop where the family once stopped during a road trip when Andrew needed to use the bathroom, a memory that leads him to reflect on Andrew’s strong opposition to Annie’s relationship with Viveca.

Annie examines the unsigned prenup, briefly questioning Viveca’s motives, though noting she knows many of Viveca’s secrets, like the fact she has a brother with a disability. Thinking of her own secrets, Annie’s thoughts drift to when she was 17.

As a teenager living in Sterling, Annie worked at a Friendly’s restaurant and began dating Albie Wignall, her manager’s son. Their relationship included sexual encounters that left Annie feeling uncertain and conflicted. She reassured herself that she was making her own choices, telling herself, “See? I’m in control. Not him” (191). Annie’s lack of understanding about sex contributed to her confusion during the relationship, though she later sought out information on her own.

Annie continued dating Albie despite discomfort and tension, including an awkward dinner with his parents and a sexual encounter that led her to kick Albie out of her house. Albie falsely claimed to be using birth control, and Annie became pregnant. When Albie’s parents learned of the pregnancy, they insisted that the couple marry. While preparing for the wedding, Annie lost the pregnancy. Afterward, she left Sterling with the help of Priscilla—a woman with whom she once had a sexual encounter—and traveled with her before being dropped off in Three Rivers.

There, Annie worked a series of jobs and struggled to support herself, including briefly working as a dancer until she was injured. She confronted memories of earlier family instability and hardship. Over time, she found steadier employment at a dry-cleaning business, where she met Orion. Although initially wary of him, Annie accepted his help when he assisted her with a flat tire and took her to dinner.

Annie and Orion began dating and grew physically close. Orion shared personal experiences from his childhood, which unsettled Annie, though she felt safe with him. Despite uncertainty, she continued the relationship and assumed that her happiness indicated love. Annie shared little about her own past and viewed Orion as socially and intellectually superior, allowing him to take the lead in the relationship.

After meeting Orion’s mother, Maria, Annie became insecure when Maria mentioned Orion’s former partner, Thea, and her professional success. In response, Annie claimed that she plans to return to college for art. While alone in Orion’s apartment, Annie searched through his belongings for evidence of his past relationship and destroyed an item connected to Thea.

Annie ended the relationship by phone, calling herself and Orion a “mismatch.” Orion stopped coming to the dry cleaners but later appeared at Annie’s home intoxicated and angry, demanding an explanation. When Annie suggested he should reunite with Thea, Orion reacted strongly, insisting that he ended that relationship by choice. The two reconciled and resumed their relationship. Shortly afterward, Orion proposed marriage, and Annie accepted. He pushed to marry quickly and surprised her by purchasing a more expensive engagement ring than the modest one she had chosen.

The chapter returns to the present, where Annie signs the prenuptial agreement, concluding that although her relationship with Viveca is imperfect, it is grounded in mutual affection and commitment.

After a month of silence, Orion asked Annie to meet. She arrived with Viveca. Angry, Orion told Annie that it was her responsibility to explain the separation to their children. About a year before the present, Annie and Viveca invited Orion to New York, where the three interacted civilly.

While driving, Orion reflects on earlier visits involving Annie and Viveca. During one visit to Three Rivers, which occurred while Orion was coping with the harassment accusation and patient suicide, Viveca expressed interest in the history of the Jones brothers and the former Skloot property. Annie brought out Josephus Jones’s painting The Cercus People, which Viveca immediately recognized as valuable and attempted to purchase. Although Orion initially negotiated with her, he ultimately refused to sell the painting.

Orion recalls discovering additional paintings by Jones in the abandoned house after agreeing to board it up when Andrew and his friends were caught there. He has now accepted Viveca’s offer to stay at her Cape Cod house, allowing Annie and the children to use his home during the wedding at the Bella Linda Inn. Viveca is not permitted at the Three Rivers house.

After signing the prenup, Annie drinks from Minnie’s jug of wine while staring at the wedding dresses laid out in the bedroom. Her thoughts spiral through anxieties about the wedding, her family’s reactions, and memories connected to Josephus Jones, who she thinks may have been the ghost she once saw. She hears the voice of her cousin Kent Kelly in her head, questioning what she wants and claiming that pain is an “integral part” of her art. Distressed, Annie throws wine on the wedding dresses. The act halts her racing thoughts, and she experiences a surge of creative inspiration, grabbing the dresses and rushing out of the apartment.

Orion examines Viveca’s property before unpacking his car, including a trunk of Josephus Jones’s paintings that he has brought with him and intends to keep hidden from Viveca. After pouring himself a drink, he reflects on the incident involving Jasmine.

Orion recalls that Jasmine came to his office late one evening, claiming she was afraid of her former fiancé, who she believed was stalking her. When she asked for a ride home, Orion agreed. Once there, she persuaded him to come inside, insisting she was frightened. Despite Orion’s verbal refusals, the situation escalated, and he later left feeling alarmed about the consequences. The following day, Jasmine contacted him regarding a letter of recommendation she claimed he had promised. After reviewing her academic record and consulting with colleagues, Orion decided not to write the letter and instead suggested alternative paths. Jasmine subsequently reported him for sexual harassment.

Orion wakes in Viveca’s house disoriented but prepares for the day. He takes a duffel bag containing items connected to his past, including his wedding ring, and carries it to Long Nook Beach, where he submerges the bag in the ocean. While doing so, he notices the decaying body of a seal nearby.

Annie rushes to a store and purchases 27 cans of spray starch before taking the materials to her studio, where she begins work on The Titan Brides of Gaia. She completes the piece the day before Viveca returns home, and Viveca later sells the work to Lady Gaga for $117,000.

On the day she begins the piece, Annie returns home and refills Minnie’s bottle of wine. She sees Dr. Nancy from the Today show and tells her to smoke a cigarette, and she notes it is a “blissful” day.