Chapter 1: Summary, Themes, and Analysis
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The chapter opens with Fern Brookbanks hiding in the office at Brookbanks Resort, the family business she has inherited after her mother Margaret's sudden death in a car accident. Fern has been back at the resort for six weeks, but she is still avoiding the dining room, where guests and locals gather. Jamie, the resort's general manager and Fern's ex-boyfriend, knocks on the door and persuades her to greet the Hannovers, a longtime guest family who want to offer their condolences in person. Fern reluctantly agrees, changes into one of her mother's yellow dresses, and meets the Hannovers in the lobby. She thanks them, makes small talk about their holiday, and deflects their sympathy. After they leave, Jamie encourages her to step into the dining room to greet other guests, but Fern hesitates, feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of facing the crowd.
Just then, she notices a very tall man in an expensive, custom-tailored suit waiting at the front desk, where no clerk is present. Fern offers to help him with check-in, partly as an excuse to avoid the dining room. As she approaches, she feels a strange sense of familiarity. She studies his face, his dark eyes, and then spots a small scar on his chin. The chapter ends with Fern realizing she knows exactly who this man is, even though she has tried to forget him.
Key Events
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Fern locks herself in the office to avoid the dining room and the guests.
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Jamie persuades her to meet the Hannovers, who want to express condolences.
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Fern changes into her mother's yellow dress, which is too tight.
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She meets the Hannovers, receives their sympathy, and makes small talk.
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Jamie tries to convince her to enter the dining room, but Fern resists.
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A tall man in an expensive suit arrives at the front desk with no clerk present.
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Fern offers to help him check in, using it as an excuse to avoid the dining room.
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As she looks at him, she recognizes his face, his eyes, and the scar on his chin.
Character Development
Fern Brookbanks is portrayed as a woman caught between grief and duty. She is angry at her mother for leaving the resort to her and for dying, and she has been avoiding the dining room because entering it would make her mother's death feel official. She is also struggling with insomnia and a sense of displacement, waking in her childhood bedroom and feeling disoriented. Despite her avoidance, she shows professionalism when she helps the Hannovers and later the tall man, revealing that she can step into her role when necessary. Her recognition of the stranger suggests a deep, unresolved connection to her past.
Jamie is supportive but also pragmatic. He is trying to manage Fern's transition into ownership while respecting her grief. He uses humor and nostalgia to lighten the mood, referencing their shared history and past intimacy. He is also concerned about the resort's business, hinting at financial pressures.
The tall man remains mysterious, but his tense demeanor and expensive suit set him apart from the casual resort guests. Fern's immediate recognition of his scar indicates that he is someone significant from her past, though his identity is not yet revealed.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Grief and loss are central, as Fern processes her mother's death through avoidance and anger. The dining room symbolizes the public face of the resort and the legacy Fern must now uphold.
Inheritance and responsibility are explored through Fern's reluctant ownership of the resort. She feels trapped by her mother's decision to leave it to her, and she questions whether she will stay.
Returning home is a motif, as Fern has come back to a place she never planned to live. The resort represents both comfort and confinement.
Mother-daughter legacy is symbolized by the yellow dress Fern wears. It is too tight, suggesting that she does not yet fit into her mother's role.
Avoidance vs. facing reality is shown through Fern's attempts to hide in the office and her hesitation at the dining room door.
Past relationships are evoked through Jamie and the mysterious stranger, hinting at unresolved history.
Nostalgia and memory appear in Fern's recollections of her mother's routines and her shared past with Jamie.
The mysterious stranger serves as a motif of the past returning, and the scar on his chin becomes a symbol of a shared history Fern cannot forget.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter establishes the emotional and narrative foundation for the novel. It introduces Fern's grief, her conflicted relationship with the resort, and her unresolved feelings about her mother. It also sets up the central romantic mystery by introducing the tall man, whose identity is clearly significant to Fern. The chapter foreshadows the tension between Fern's past and present, and it positions the resort as a character in its own right—a place where Fern must confront her memories and decide her future.
Study Questions and Answers
- Why does Fern avoid the dining room?
Fern avoids the dining room because entering it would make her mother's death feel official. She has been hiding in the office and resisting Jamie's suggestions to greet guests, partly because she is not ready to accept that her mother is gone and that she is now the face of the resort.
- What does the yellow dress symbolize?
The yellow dress is one of her mother's brightly colored shifts, and it is too tight on Fern. It symbolizes the weight of her mother's legacy and the pressure Fern feels to fill her role. The dress also represents the mother-daughter connection, as Fern can almost hear her mother's voice when she changes.
- How does the author create suspense around the tall man?
The author builds suspense by describing the man's expensive, tailored suit and his tense, silent demeanor, which makes him stand out among the casual guests. Fern's gradual recognition—first a sense of familiarity, then the specific detail of the scar—creates a slow reveal that ends the chapter on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader eager to learn who he is.