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Summary

PART I: Barbara (continued)

Louise, Two Months Later August 1975—Jacob, June 1975   

Louise: Two Months Later August 1975

The search for Barbara begins, and T.J. gathers campers and counselors in the Commissary, assigning search areas. Louise hopes no one mentions Annabel’s drunkenness last night—or her own secret late-night meeting. When T.J. asks about Barbara’s relationships, another counselor mentions a camper who had asked her to the dance, but Barbara rejected him. T.J. instructs counselors to signal with whistles: three blasts if they find Barbara, two if they learn something. When someone brings up Barbara’s brother, Bear, the group becomes silent, as his name is rarely spoken. T.J. once knew him well but denies he was ever a camper, and Louise remembers his disappearance clearly, having joined the Shattuck community’s search for him when she was a child. 

On her way to search near Lake Joan, Louise’s mind races. She worries about losing her job, which would force her to return to Shattuck to care for her alcoholic mother and struggling 11-year-old brother, Jesse. She has always longed to escape her life. No one ever asked what Louise truly wanted, so she wrote her dreams in journals, hoping they would manifest.  

Louise attended Union College, but financial struggles forced her to drop out. That’s when she met John Paul McLellan Jr., a Manhattan-raised philosophy major who fell for her immediately. His godparents are the Van Laars, and he was the one who suggested she work at Camp Emerson. In the off-season, she works at Garnet Hill Lodge.  

John Paul’s father, a powerful lawyer, is deeply tied to the Van Laars and their bank, giving John Paul influence Louise could never dream of. She and John Paul are engaged, and he says he will buy a ring as soon as he gets a job. John Paul frequently ignores Louise and any concerns she brings to him. Their relationship has grown distant, but she clings to the future he promises: the security of marriage, a stable house, and a better life for Jesse. Yet, deep down, she knows he’s stalling their marriage. He’s at the preserve’s 100th Anniversary celebration, and despite her hopes, she wasn’t invited. Although she has worked at Camp Emerson for four summers, she’s never met the Van Laars. The McLellans barely acknowledge her either, reintroducing themselves every time they meet because they don’t remember who she is. Defeated, Louise knows she is not good enough for John Paul’s family. 

A loon calls, snapping Louise out of her thoughts. She makes her way to the Staff Quarters to continue her search. Louise can’t shake thoughts of Lee Towson, the camp’s prep cook, known for his flirtations and rumored past, though Louise doesn’t trust any gossip. Driven by her previous flirtatious interactions with him, she had left her cabin last night to meet him while Annabel took the campers to their cabin. In the Clearing, Louise had sat near Lee, who was playing guitar. She was aware that John Paul was nearby at Self-Reliance, but she hadn’t seen him since the first night of camp, despite waiting for him outside each evening. Suddenly, John Paul found her in the woods with Lee and drunkenly started a fight. Lee fought him, and John Paul, humiliated and beaten, called her a whore and walked away. 

Back in the present, Louise tries to avoid Lee but runs into him anyway. When she tells him about Barbara, she breaks down, and he pulls her into a hug. He cryptically mentions that he knows John Paul but won’t say how, hinting at drug deals. Offering to help, he reassures her that Barbara probably just ran away, and Louise tries to believe him. 

Alice: August 1975 

At Self-Reliance, Alice wakes up hungover from the previous night's party, surprised that her usually judgemental husband, Peter, had been drunk too. A loud bang from T.J. startles her, and she assumes Barbara is in trouble before drifting back to sleep. In a dream, T.J. carries baby Barbara in a makeshift sling, saying she’s going to find Bear. Alice wakes abruptly. 

She passes Bear’s old room on her way down the hall and sees fire trucks and a state trooper’s car approaching, a chilling reminder of when Bear went missing. The phone rings—it’s a state police sergeant informing her that Barbara is missing. As she processes the news, she recalls Dr. Lewis’ mindfulness exercise, trying to stay present. Alice bravely goes to Peter’s room to tell him their daughter has disappeared. 

Alice: Two Months Earlier, June 1975 

With Peter off to Manhattan, Alice feels lonely, and decides to walk towards the other wing of the house near Barbara’s room. Alice is surprised to notice a padlock on her door, and sees it as a bold move—Barbara didn’t deserve privacy after how she’d been acting. Inside, she finds murals that Barbara painted, sparking jealousy in Alice because she never felt free enough to start such a project herself. Without hesitation, she covers the walls in pink paint and removes the broken padlock. 

Tracy: June 1975 

During a survival class in the woods, T.J. leads Tracy’s group to quiet forest clearing, encouraging them to look deeper—rocks, leaves, branches—all useful for warmth in an emergency. She introduces the balsam fir tree as natural shelter, demonstrating how to brace against its trunk in storms and build makeshift walls for longer stays. 

While T.J. speaks, Tracey is distracted by Lowell, who listens intently. That evening in her cabin, as others socialize on the porches, Tracey journals. Finally gathering the courage, she asks Barbara how she likes camp. Barbara tells her she likes being able to eat as much as she wants. Tracey, though loving the nature most, agrees, mirroring Barbara to build a connection. 

Barbara climbs into Tracey’s bed, flipping through a Creem magazine. Tracey notices her faded black hair and lack of makeup, making her look younger. Barbara mentions this is their first real conversation and calls Tracey shy. When they hear a guitar playing, Barbara convinces Tracey to go outside with her. 

At Pine, the oldest boys’ cabin, they find a crowd gathered around Lowell strumming a song. Tracey recognizes the tune but doesn’t sing along, though she and Lowell briefly lock eyes. 

On the walk back, Barbara asks Tracey for a favor—she’ll need to leave the cabin some nights, and she asks Tracey to keep it a secret. She also requests that they swap bunks, making it easier to slip out from the bottom. 

Soon, Tracey realizes Barbara leaves every night. She hears her quiet breathing shift, then footsteps toward the screen door. By the time Barbara returns, Tracey is always asleep. When she mentions how tired she must be, Barbara only shrugs, saying that she doesn’t need much sleep. 

Jacob: June 1975 

Jacob wakes in his prison cell with a voice in his head, “Limp Jacob”, which sounds like his father. At lunch, he watches a man dragging his leg across the cafeteria floor. The next morning, he tells the guard he can’t move his legs and begins dragging himself on the floor, even when no one is watching. Though disliked at Dannemora Prison, his fake disability earns him sympathy, and after weeks, he is transferred to a lower-security prison. Months later, he escapes. 

With nowhere else to go, he heads for the Sluiter Tract, the caves where his grandfather once took him camping. His grandfather, a natural storyteller, was the only adult who had ever shown him kindness. However, he knows the caves are a risk, as they are dangerously close to Shattuck. Jacob travels at night, breaking into houses for supplies, careful never to be seen. He recalls narrowly avoiding a woman in the bathroom during a break-in. By day, he sleeps, sometimes waiting out the rain in the very houses he’s broken into. 

His father never praised him except for his resourcefulness. His family were loggers, and they lost their land when the Adirondack Preserve was created, forcing them to work for the wealthy as builders, factory workers, and handymen. Now, Jacob steals with skill, taking food, clothes, even the occasional shower, and he enjoys it. He’s lost track of how many days have passed but knows he has to keep moving; he’s still a fugitive, and it’s too risky to stay in one place for long. As he moves deeper into the wilderness, he’ll have to be even more resourceful. 

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