Strange Sally Diamond

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. She opens her father’s final letter to her, which tells the story of her background. Thomas’s letter to Sally relates that she was born with the name of Mary Norton. Thomas and his wife changed her name to Sally Diamond when they adopted her. Sally’s oddities are not an inherent condition; instead, they are the result of growing up with extreme trauma. In 1966, Sally’s mother, Denise Norton, was kidnapped at the age of 11 by a man named Conor Geary. Conor then spent 14 years sexually and psychologically abusing Denise, whom he kept imprisoned. Sally was likely born in 1974, though no one can be sure. Conor Geary is Sally’s biological father. The police finally found Denise and Sally in 1980, locked up in abusive conditions in an extension to a house in Killiney. By the time she was found, Denise suffered from severe mental health issues due to her long captivity and sexual abuse. Thomas and his wife Jean met Sally when she and her mother were institutionalized at St. Mary’s Psychiatric Hospital, where Thomas had been working at the time.

Denise struggled with her mental health conditions. Among other abuses, Conor Geary had removed all her teeth. However, tests and testimonials from Denise proved that Conor did not sexually abuse Sally. The night that Thomas had Denise and Sally separated, Denise died by suicide. Thomas and Jean then adopted Sally. Thomas blamed himself for Denise’s death.

Returning to the present moment, the narrative clarifies that Angela did not know about Sally’s identity until she read Thomas’s letters on the day she learned of Thomas’s death. Now, Sally asks Christine and Angela if they have any information about her biological aunts, uncles, or grandparents. They tell Sally that Denise’s family was heartbroken and moved to France to get away from the scene of the crime. Conor Geary had left the country before the police found Denise; he has never been caught, and Christine and Angela are worried that he is the one who has sent Sally the teddy bear from her childhood.

The narrative flashes back to 1974; this chapter is told from Peter’s perspective. Peter’s father needs to leave for a few days, so he introduces Peter to his mother, the ghost in the next room. Peter’s mother has been begging to see him for years, but Peter has never met her before and is frightened of her. Peter’s mother asks him questions about the world outside the house. She tells him that she gave birth to him when she was 11, after she was kidnapped by the man whose name she still doesn’t know. Peter doesn’t want to hear anything more from her. He is frightened and threatens to kick her if she keeps talking. She is now pregnant with her second child.

The novel returns to Sally’s perspective in the narrative present. Angela and Christine want to give the teddy bear to the police, but Sally insists on keeping Toby. She takes a nap, but when she wakes up, she can’t find Toby. As Sally becomes violently distressed, Angela explains that she brought the bear and its packaging to the police for testing. Hearing this, Sally punches Angela. Angela and Christine are shocked by her outburst, and when she calms down, they ask her if she is often this violent. Sally tells them about the few times she has lost her temper and become violent, including the time she broke a schoolmate’s arm. Angela explains to Sally that because she is now an adult, she will be imprisoned if she inflicts violence on others. Angela and Christine want Sally to see a therapist. Later, Angela and Christine return to their homes for Christmas Eve. Feeling ashamed for hurting Angela, Sally writes her a letter of apology. Shame is one of the only human emotions that Sally fully understands.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1974. He is in the room with his mother, who begs him for food. He tells her to shut up. She falls to the floor in pain and accuses Peter of pushing her to hurt the baby. He wonders if his father locked him in the room with his mother as a punishment.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Angela’s wife Nadine reaches out to re-invite her to their house for Christmas as long as Sally promises not to bring up the teddy bear situation. Angela has tried looking for information about Sally’s birth mother and her birth mother’s family, but most of the details of the people involved in the case are sealed. Sally looks through her father’s records. She also listens to a taped conversation between Denise, Jean, and Thomas, in which Denise is agitated and highly protective of Sally, whom she refers to as Mary. Denise is also resentful of her parents for failing to find and rescue her.

Thomas’s notes on Denise at the time reflect Denise’s severe trauma and her violent protectiveness over Mary (Sally). Denise’s parents have a difficult time reuniting with her because she is so profoundly changed from the person she used to be. Thomas’s notes relate that Mary (Sally) keeps asking for Toby the teddy bear, which Denise had been holding when she was kidnapped. Denise and Mary are physically improving, but it is clear that Denise will never fully recover from her mental and emotional trauma. Thomas believes that there is hope for Mary to have a normal life in the future, but Denise won’t let Mary out of her sight, and she won’t let anyone else help take care of Mary.

Reading Thomas’s notes, the adult Sally now notes that Denise shares her own habit of pulling at her hair when she is distressed.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1974. Peter’s mother isn’t doing well. She is weak and in pain, and she removes her clothes when she feels hot flashes. She is worried that she and the baby are dying. She starts bleeding profusely, and Peter doesn’t know what to do. He starts feeling sorry for her, but he won’t admit this. She begs him to find help, but Peter isn’t allowed to leave the house. She introduces herself as Denise and begs him to remember her name so that when she dies, she will be remembered.

Peter’s father returns home and locks Peter in his room away from Denise, who soon gives birth to a baby girl. Peter’s father explains to Peter that Denise is locked away is because she has done bad things. He claims that Peter no longer needs Denise and assuages all of Peter’s fears about the woman’s condition. Without understanding why, Peter marks the date of his sister’s birthday on the calendar: September 17, 1974. Peter asks his father why he is not allowed to have friends or go to school. (Denise has told him that the lack of these things means that Peter is also being held prisoner.) Peter’s father tells him that Peter has a disease that will cause him to die if someone else touches him. Peter’s father emphasizes that this is why it is important for Peter to stay inside the house. Peter admits to his father that he is lonely and wishes he had friends. Peter asks his father if he can befriend his little sister, but Peter’s father grows frustrated and says that all women are dangerous.

The novel returns to Sally’s perspective in the narrative present. Through her father’s medical notes, Sally learns that the case of her and her mother is unique. Thomas’s notes relate that he and Jean registered Sally’s birthday as December 13, 1974. While both mother and daughter were still institutionalized, Thomas planned a trial separation because Mary (Sally) was learning bad habits due to Denise’s violent protection of her. However, the first night that Denise and Mary were separated, Denise bashed her head against a wall repeatedly until she died of a brain hemorrhage. Although Thomas was cleared of any responsibility for Denise’s death, his decision to separate her from her daughter led directly to her death and ruined his professional reputation. In November of 1981, Thomas and Jean adopted Mary and renamed her Sally Diamond. Thomas writes in his notes that he and his wife are medical professionals and are therefore the best people to raise a “damaged” child. Reading the notes, Sally doesn’t like his use of the word “damaged” to refer to her.

In their ongoing investigation, the police compare the “S” on the postage from New Zealand with records of Conor Geary’s handwriting but find no match. Even so, Sally is convinced that Conor Geary sent Toby. Sally no longer wants to keep Toby. Sally also begins intensive therapy with a psychotherapist named Tina. Meanwhile, the police reopen the case of Conor Geary, and Interpol gets involved after the police test Toby and find proof that Toby was sent from New Zealand. In further attempts to rejoin society, Sally attends a computer literacy course, and Tina helps her to navigate social conversations with the other students. Sally gets an email address and learns how to search the internet. She also gets a smart phone, registers to vote, and keeps up with the news. She researches articles about Conor Geary and finds photographs of her mother’s prison in his home.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1980. As he gets older, he asks more questions about his mother. He also becomes more afraid of the world outside the house, worried that he will die due to his “disease.” His father shows him the scars on his body and tells him that Peter’s mother is the one who inflicted them. Peter asks his father why he hasn’t called the police on his mother, and his father explains that he couldn’t bear to incarcerate his wife, even if she is a bad person.

Peter discovers his attraction to girls through television. When he starts ejaculating in his sleep, he is nervous that his father will be angry with him. One day, Peter sees a strange man sneak into the yard behind the house. He hears Denise screaming her name. The man quickly runs off. Peter unlocks the door and finds Denise chained up with her daughter. She begs him not to tell his father that she was screaming her name when she heard the stranger. Peter takes a teddy bear away from his sister. Denise begs Peter to let the girl keep her only toy, but Peter takes the bear away anyway. When his father returns home, Peter tells him about the stranger and Denise screaming her name. Furious, Peter’s dad tells him to pack a bag to leave. Peter packs Toby the teddy bear in his bag.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Sally learns more about Conor Geary from the police. If Conor Geary is still alive, he would be 83 years old. His sister Margaret now lives in the house in which Denise and Sally were once held captive. Sally and Christine meet with Margaret, who is apologetic and deeply ashamed of her brother. Conor was cruel to Margaret throughout their childhood, and even before his crimes were revealed, she hadn’t spoken to him in years.

As time goes on, Sally’s social skills improve. She accepts the offer of her former schoolmate, Stella, to meet. As their friendship grows, they go to pubs and to the movies. Sally continues with her therapy and often has dinner at the Adebayo house.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1980. Peter and his father go to the bank, then to his father’s dental practice to pick some things up. They book a voyage to Wales. Peter is not excited; he understands that they are running away from Ireland, but he doesn’t understand why. Conor explains that Denise mistakenly believes that she has been kidnapped. He explains that the police will believe her and take Peter away from Conor if they stay in Ireland. They sail to Wales then take a bus to London, where the crowded streets frighten Peter because he believes that if he runs into someone, he will die. When Conor tries to book a shabby hotel room for a couple of nights, the manager tells him to go back to Ireland; Conor is shocked to realize that the man must have assumed that Conor was a terrorist and a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Tina treats Sally for PTSD, and Sally also goes through noise therapy to acclimate to loud sounds, which typically trigger her. Sally has also been attending yoga classes at Martha’s studio and is learning how to take care of her body and to meditate. Tina encourages Sally to consider getting a job, perhaps as a piano teacher since Sally is so talented with the piano. Tina also discourages Sally from undergoing any therapy that would uncover her repressed childhood memories.

Sally chats with Udo, who works in the local Texaco shop, but when he leaves, the manager, Caroline, makes derogatory remarks about Black people moving into town. Sally chides Caroline for being racist. Embarrassed, Caroline shouts at Sally, ordering her to leave and to never come back to the shop. As Sally walks away from the Texaco, a stranger pulls up in a car and introduces himself as Mark. He saw the confrontation between Caroline and Sally and now offers Sally a ride, but she refuses. Sally figures that Mark probably isn’t a kidnapper, but she doesn’t want to risk it. She wants to call someone to talk through her confrontation with Caroline and realizes that she needs more friends.

Sally feels too lonely and isolated in her house. She decides to sell it and move into town. Nadine and Angela know of a rundown cottage in town that Sally could renovate. Despite her social anxiety, Sally attends a party to which Martha has invited her. There, she mingles and uses her new social skills to make small talk. She meets Mark again and learns that he works with Udo. Mark apologizes for making Sally feel unsafe. She and Mark chat, and Sally is transparent with him about her social awkwardness. Mark finds her honesty refreshing. He is honest with her too and tells her that he recently moved from Dublin, where he faced a divorce after cheating on his wife. Mark asks Sally if she would be interested in having a relationship, and Sally tells him that she doesn’t want to have sex. From everybody’s reaction, Sally realizes that she has overstepped the boundaries of polite conversation. She leaves the party feeling ashamed.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1980. Conor finds someone who can help them to arrange passports. For their safety, Conor changes their names. Peter will now be Steven Armstrong, and Conor will be James Armstrong, and they now have passports that give them both false identities as citizens of New Zealand. Conor prepares Peter for the move to New Zealand by feeding him a story that they must uphold: that Steven and Conor Armstrong were born in New Zealand and moved to Ireland briefly for Conor’s career and marriage. Conor also tells Peter that the police have found Denise and Mary and are looking for Conor, but he assures Peter that they will be gone by the time the police figure out Conor’s location.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. After about a year of searching for Conor Geary in New Zealand, the police inform Sally that no sign of him has been found. The mystery of who sent Sally the teddy bear remains unresolved. Sally works through her lingering resentment over the fact that while she was hospitalized as a child, her father kept her on high doses of medication that disabled her ability to remember her time in Conor’s house. Tina helps Sally to deal with this resentment and to work through her awkward interaction with Mark at the party. Tina suggests that Mark brought up relationships with Sally because he has a romantic interest in her. Sally insists that Mark wouldn’t be interested in her because she’s so odd. When she also insists that she has no interest in sex, Tina suggests that Sally might be asexual. Sally wants to be a piano teacher, and Tina advises her that she will need police clearance to work with children, which may be difficult to obtain because of the incident surrounding the improper disposal of Thomas’s remains.

Sally goes out for coffee in a café with Mark and a woman named Sue, whom she met at Martha’s party. Mark suggests that Sally throw a dinner party because she loves to cook. Sally asks Mark if he is interested in her romantically, but Mark doesn’t have a chance to respond because Caroline suddenly confronts Sally and accuses her of getting her fired. Mark informs Caroline that he was the one who called Caroline’s company to complain about her racism. Caroline turns her vitriol against Sue, who is of Indian descent. Caroline is kicked out of the café, and the other customers applaud her expulsion. Sue is upset about being targeted for her ethnic identity. Later, Christine calls Sally to let her know that Christine’s husband Donald is seriously ill and will likely die soon. Sally feels sorry for Christine and asks thoughtful questions about Donald’s condition. Sally is proud of herself for having a normal, empathic conversation about death.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1980. Conor and Peter have a long and arduous journey to New Zealand. Conor grows out his hair and beard to disguise himself. In New Zealand, he sets up a new dental practice and no longer locks Peter in the house. Peter is intimidated to be part of society. Peter watches his neighbor, a boy who is a little older than he is, and notes how gently and lovingly this boy interacts with his mother. Peter starts to question his father’s deep-seated sexism. Peter recalls his own mother and decides that his father can’t be all bad because he did let Denise keep the baby girl with her in her room.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Mark calls Sally and explains that he wants to be friends. Mark is romantically interested in another woman named Anubha. Relieved, Sally invites Mark over for dinner. During dinner, Sally tells Mark all about her father’s medical notes and the investigation into the teddy bear from New Zealand. However, when Mark asks too many intense questions about Sally’s history, she asks him to leave. Later, Sally buys the dilapidated cottage, and Nadine helps her plan the renovations. Sally continues to spend time with Mark and the other new friends she made at Martha’s party.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1982. Peter introduces himself to Rangi, the boy next door, and asks him about school and about his life. Rangi explains that he lives with his Aunt Georgia. Peter explains that he doesn’t go to school because of a serious health condition. He invites Rangi to come over and watch television, but Rangi calls him weird and refuses. Lonely and longing for a friend, Peter tells Conor about his interaction with Rangi. Conor renovates the barn to make it a full-time living space for someone who is young enough to keep Peter company. One day, Rangi comes over unannounced and asks to watch Peter’s television, and the boys bond over watching rugby and commiserating about being different; Rangi is of Māori descent and says that school is difficult for him because people are racist. Peter compliments Rangi on his physical attributes, and the boys become friends. Peter helps Rangi with his homework, but he never tells Conor about Rangi’s visits because Conor holds racist views against Rangi.

One day, Rangi brings Peter to a nearby lake. Peter notes the circular scars on Rangi’s chest, and Rangi explains that his mother burned him with cigarettes when he was a child. Peter bonds with Rangi over the perceived commonality of having mothers with mental health issues. However, when Peter tells Rangi about Denise, Rangi asserts that abusing women is wrong and states that if his own mother had never been abused, she would have been kind to him. Rangi can’t swim, but Peter convinces him to get into the lake anyway. Rangi drowns, and Peter takes no action to save him because he believes Conor’s lie that he will die if his skin touches that of another person.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Sally’s uncle Donald dies, and Christine invites her to the funeral in Dublin. Sally is nervous about going to the bustling city, so Sue accompanies her to help her out and to visit her own family. Mark also attends the funeral because he wants to be there for Sally. The next morning, Christine has a serious conversation with Sally about Mark and his intentions. She tells Sally that Mark had asked a lot of invasive questions about Sally and her childhood.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1982. Peter tearfully tells Conor about his secret friendship with Rangi and Rangi’s drowning. Conor is adamant that they must not call the police. He explains that the police will blame Peter and will kill him. Peter is devastated that his only friend is dead. Rangi’s aunt comes over to ask about Rangi, but Conor cruelly tells her that Rangi is a bad influence on Peter and that Rangi isn’t allowed near Peter. Peter is shocked by the depth of his father’s cruelty. Conor and Georgia don’t have telephones, so Conor drives Georgia to the police station so that she can report Rangi missing. The police mock Rangi because they know about his mother’s reputation. They dismiss Georgia’s concerns and assume that because Rangi is of Māori heritage, he must be off with a gang somewhere. They do not file a missing person report. When Rangi’s body is found, no one questions Peter, and when he hears Georgia crying, he wishes that he could tell her the truth about what happened and admit that Rangi’s death was his fault.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Sue and Sally go shopping for new clothes in Dublin. Sally handles it well doesn’t understand why Sue tries to surprise her with a trip to the salon. Sue gets annoyed with Sally, who explains that she doesn’t want to change her physical appearance. Sue and Sally chat about Mark. Sue is convinced that Mark is interested in Sally romantically. Sally matter-of-factly tells Sue about being asexual and explains that Tina has encouraged her to try masturbating. Sue is excited for Sally’s future.

Sally’s real estate agent tells her that there are three big offers to buy her house. Sally wants to help decide who gets the land, which the real estate agent notes is unusual. He begrudgingly arranges for the three offers to pitch to Sally. Sally is most impressed with the proposal to turn her land and house into affordable housing. Sally makes a great deal of money on the sale and even arranges for some of the land to be allocated to her neighbor, Ger McCarthy, so that he can expand his cattle farm. Meanwhile, the renovations on Sally’s cottage are moving along well.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1983. Georgia moves out of her house to be closer to town, so Conor buys her shack and land. Conor brings Peter on a hike around the lake. They come across a girl in a tree who is scared to come down because of a nearby a possum. Conor helps get her down, and she chats with Peter. Her name is Lindy, and she is 14 years old. Conor offers Lindy a ride back to her parents, who are on the other side of the lake, but instead, he drives her back to his house and locks her in the barn, which he has made sound-proof.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Margaret Geary dies and leaves her house to Sally; it is the same house in which Sally and Denise were once held captive. Sally sells it quickly. Before she moves out of her own house, she throws a party, giving away many of her belongings to her friends. For the party, she also hires a security guard named Lina to make sure that nothing bad happens to her or her beloved friends. Sally is convinced that Conor is still out there somewhere. The party is going well, and everyone is getting along and having a good time until Lina suddenly blows her warning whistle.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1985. Just like he once did with Denise, Conor keeps Lindy locked in the barn, with her ankle chained to the wall. Lindy is inconsolable, but Peter visits her regularly and tries to be nice to her. Her disappearance is featured on the news for weeks, but no one saw her walk off with Conor and Peter. Two years into her captivity, Lindy continues to fight back against Conor and makes several unsuccessful escape attempts. Meanwhile, Peter starts a vegetable farming business and saves his money to buy things for Lindy. He gets his driver’s license, and Conor allows him more independence. Peter runs across the teddy bear, Toby, and for the first time, he wonders why his mother would have brought a teddy bear with her when she got married. He starts questioning what his father has told him about Denise, but he is unwilling to fully accept the idea that his father is not a good man.

Peter believes that he cannot have sex with Lindy because of the medical condition he is convinced that he has, but he does fall in love with her anyway. He wonders if Conor is having sex with Lindy. One day, Peter visits Lindy and discovers that his father has pulled out one of her teeth. Lindy confronts Peter with the truth. She points out that at 17 years old, Peter is too old to not see what’s really going on. She tells Peter that Conor has been raping her twice a week for years. She claims that if Peter were able to touch her, he would rape her too. Peter confronts his father about being a pedophile. He tells his father that he’s finally figured out his father’s crimes, from kidnapping little girls to raping them and holding them captive. His father mocks him with this truth, pointing out that there isn’t anything Peter can do about it because if Conor gets arrested, Peter will, too.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Sally grabs a fire poker when she hears Lina’s whistle and finds Lina in a headlock with Caroline. Nadine stops Sally from hitting Caroline with the poker and tells Caroline to get out or they will call the police. Caroline runs off. Angela helps to calm Sally down and encourages her to continue dealing with her rage in therapy. The party continues.

Christine hears someone in Thomas’s old office and catches Mark looking through Thomas’s old files. When he is caught, he leaves quickly. Sally ends the party, and Christine expresses her concern that Mark is obsessed with Sally. The next day, Sue’s children come by to play on the bouncy castle that Sally rented for the party. Christine tells Angela about finding Mark in Thomas’s office, and they wonder if Mark is a true-crime fanatic. A Google search on Mark turns up nothing suspicious. Sue comes over to pick up her children and tells them that she saw Mark packing his car with his belongings. The next morning, Sally receives an envelope postmarked from New Zealand. Inside the envelope is a birthday card signed by “S,” informing Sally that her real birthday is September 17. Sally calls Angela, who comes over. However, before Sally can show her the birthday card, Angela tells her that Mark Butler is not Mark’s real identity.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1985. When Peter tells Lindy about his confrontation with his father, she asks him why he hasn’t called the police. She also points out that his disease is a highly convenient tool to keep Peter isolated, but he cannot accept the idea that he might not have this disease; if he does, he will have to accept that his father has been manipulating him for years. It will also mean that Rangi’s death is Peter’s fault. Later, Conor tries to explain that just as Peter has a disease, Conor’s pedophilia is also a disease. Peter decides to research his disease but finds no evidence of it in medical journals. Peter decides to see a doctor.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. A police officer arrives to pick up the birthday card and envelope. After the officer leaves, Angela fills Sally in on what she’s discovered about Mark. Angela found Mark’s ex-wife Elaine on Facebook and reached out to her. Elaine told Angela that Mark is a deeply troubled man whose real name is Mark Norton. He is Sally’s uncle—Denise’s brother. He was four years old when Denise was kidnapped. The ramifications of Denise’s abduction, abuse, and death by suicide ruined Mark’s family, and he grew up depression and other mental health issues. Elaine and Mark married young because Elaine thought she could help Mark to create the family he never had. However, Mark refused to have children with Elaine because he was worried that his children would be abducted too. This led to a divorce because Elaine wanted to be a mother. As far as Elaine knew, he was doing fine until the news of Thomas’s death exposed Sally’s identity, at which point Mark became obsessed with Sally and found a job in Carricksheedy to be closer to her. Sally is shocked by the news, but she also believes that Mark has a right to see Thomas’s files because Denise was his sister. Sally no longer feels safe in her house and wants to move out sooner. Sally texts Mark to tell him that she knows about their family connection and says that they need to talk.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1985. Peter goes to the doctor and discovers that his supposed disease does not exist. The doctor touches his face with her bare hand to prove that nothing will happen. Peter picks his father up from Conor’s dental practice. On their drive home, Peter asks him more questions about his supposed disease, knowing that every response Conor gives is a lie. Peter grows angry and loses control of the car. They crash down a slope. They hit the ground and Peter sees that his father is bloody and injured. When flames rise up in the car, Peter flees, leaving his father to burn with the car. Peter is brought to the hospital. He is fine except for a broken ankle. He is awed by how many people touch him and is overjoyed to be free of his fake disease. Conor’s death is ruled an accident. Despite being only 17 years old, Peter convinces the social worker that he is capable of living on his own. Peter believes that now that his father is gone, Lindy will want to stay with him.

The narrative returns to Sally’s present-day perspective. Sally’s cabin is not yet fully renovated, but it is good enough to move into. Tina helps Sally to deal with her rage, which Tina suggests is a connection to Denise even though Sally has no memories of her mother. Tina believes that reading about Denise’s rage has caused Sally to take on that rage. Tina reminds Sally that she is no longer locked in a room and that she is in full control of her life and of her reactions to life’s challenges. Mark doesn’t reply to Sally’s text. Angela puts Sally in touch with Elaine, who has seen Mark disappear for weeks at a time and believes that he will resurface soon. Sally is less afraid of Mark than she is of the mysterious “S” from New Zealand. She worries that Conor Geary is still out there antagonizing her.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1989. Peter mourns his father’s death and mourns the life he lost to his father’s manipulations. Peter struggles because “[y]ears of concealment didn’t dissipate overnight; the feeling of escaping and hiding never left [him]” (233). When Peter had returned to Lindy 10 days after the accident that killed his father, she had been hopeful that she would be freed. But Peter loves Lindy and decided to keep her.

By 1989, Peter is 21 years old. He goes out into town and to the gym, but he still has no friends because he needs to keep Lindy’s captivity a secret. He is convinced that with patience, Lindy will become his girlfriend. He believes he takes good care of Lindy because he doesn’t physically hurt her, and he provides her with gifts and comforts. Lindy impresses upon Peter that she will never see him as anything other than her jailer.

The narrative returns to Sally’s current perspective. Mark texts Sally back, asking her not to contact Elaine anymore. Sally texts him that she received another note from “S” and asks Mark if he is the one sending here these things. Mark calls her and admits that he should have told Sally about his real identity. He wanted to know if Sally was like Denise, but now he thinks that Sally’s violence makes her more like Conor than Denise.

Sally and Mark meet at a restaurant. He wants to know about his sister, so she offers Mark full access to Thomas’s notes and recordings. Mark tells Sally that Toby was his teddy bear. He gives Sally old photographs of him and Denise when they were children, before her kidnapping. Mark explains that his earliest memories are of the panic and the police presence in his household when Denise was abducted. These memories created a traumatic foundation for Mark’s entire life. Mark was 18 when Denise was found, and no one would let him see her. He explains that his parents did not want Sally because they couldn’t accept a granddaughter who was born as a result of rape. Mark is disappointed in Sally for attacking Caroline, because he connects her action to Conor’s violence. However, Sally counters this by suggesting that she got her lack of empathy from the Norton side of the family, since Mark’s parents abandoned her after Denise’s death.

Sally encourages Mark to return to Carricksheedy. She wants to be friends with him because he is the only family she knows. Mark agrees, and when he leaves, Sally takes comfort in playing the piano in the lobby. The manager asks Sally if she would like to play the piano for them professionally on a part-time basis.

The narrative flashes back to Peter’s perspective in 1996. For years, Lindy continues to try to escape. When Peter brings Lindy books from the library until he discovers that she writes notes in the books, begging for help. Once, Lindy stabs Peter in the leg, which makes him bring back the chain his father used. On other occasions, Lindy tries to poison Peter and burn him with hot water. He reminds her that if he dies, she dies, because nobody knows that she is imprisoned. Peter never rapes Lindy, nor does he physically punish her for her many attempted escapes. He has convinced himself that he is not like his father.

The narrative relates a retrospective of the years leading up to 1996. In 1990, Lindy kissed Peter. He did not have sex with her but did confess his love for her. They finally had sex in 1992, and Peter let Lindy take the lead so that he would not hurt her like his father had.

By 1996, Peter is convinced that Lindy is in love with him. He considers bringing Lindy into the main house to live with him, but the risk that someone would see her is too great. Lindy wants a baby, but Peter’s vegetable farm business isn’t doing well, and he doesn’t believe he can afford a baby. Lindy gets pregnant anyway, eventually giving birth to a girl in the barn. While Lindy is asleep, Peter wraps the baby up and drives it into Auckland.