Chapter 1: One – Summary 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
Chapter 1 opens at the Maidstone Gun Club in Wainscott, Long Island, a little after seven in the morning. The narrator, Jane Smith, a criminal defense attorney and former NYPD officer, has arrived with her investigator and best friend, Jimmy Cunniff, also ex-NYPD. They set up a shooting competition using steel target plates and a timer. Their banter reveals a long history of rivalry and close partnership. Jane sings a line from “Janie’s Got a Gun” while Jimmy jokes about her client. The conversation turns personal when Jane mentions losing at anything; Jimmy responds that she hasn’t lost on the big things, specifically referencing her battle with cancer. Jane calls that outcome “to be determined.”
The two recall a recent shootout they survived at the Walking Dunes of Montauk, part of the aftermath of Jane’s defense of Rob Jacobson, a real estate developer accused of triple homicide—the first of two such prosecutions. Now at the range, Jane and Jimmy are not training for another violent encounter but engaging in a friendly contest. Jane steps back ten yards from the plates and, after Jimmy signals, fires six shots, knocking down all six targets. Yet even after a perfect round, she wants to keep shooting, reload, and keep firing. She confesses that for the past eight months she has felt like the one with a target on her back.
Key Events
- Jane and Jimmy meet at the Maidstone Gun Club early in the morning.
- They prepare a shooting competition with six steel plates and a timer.
- Jane jokingly sings “Janie’s Got a Gun” and trades remarks with Jimmy.
- The conversation touches on Jane’s cancer survival and her current defense of Rob Jacobson.
- They recall the previous shootout at the Walking Dunes of Montauk.
- Jane shoots six for six, all plates down.
- Afterward, she feels an urge to continue shooting, driven by a sense of being targeted.
Character Development
Jane Smith emerges as fiercely competitive and self-assured (“I never lose”), yet under that bravado lies vulnerability. She is a survivor of serious injury (the Walkings Dunes shootout) and of cancer, but she remains uncertain about her future. Her need to keep shooting after a perfect round hints at unresolved anxiety and a desire for control. Her identity as “Jane Effing Smith” conveys a reputation for toughness, but the chapter’s closing line reveals she feels hunted.
Jimmy Cunniff is presented as loyal, blunt, and protective. He pushes Jane’s buttons (calling her client a “bottom-feeder”) but also shows genuine concern, especially when he references her cancer. His role as investigator and best friend is clearly established, and he balances Jane’s intensity with humor.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Survival and agency – The shooting range symbolizes a place where Jane can exert perfect control, unlike in real life where she faces a murder case and a recurring threat. The act of aiming and firing represents her wish to reduce complex problems to simple, manageable actions.
Duality of roles – Jane is both a former police officer and a defense attorney, a “shooter” who now defends shooters. The chapter highlights the tension between those identities.
The target metaphor – Throughout the chapter, literal targets (steel plates) and figurative targets (the ones Jane feels on her back) merge. Her perfect shooting contrasts with her feeling of being hunted; the one thing she can control is her aim.
Cancer as an unresolved conflict – Jane’s brief exchange about cancer (survived but outcome “to be determined”) introduces a personal, ongoing battle that parallels the legal and physical threats she faces.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 1 establishes the novel’s protagonist, tone, and central conflict. Jane Smith is introduced as a sharp, uncompromising lawyer with a violent past and a personal health crisis. Her partnership with Jimmy grounding the story in loyalty and banter. The chapter also foreshadows the Rob Jacobson case—a double-triple homicide defense—as the engine of the plot. Most crucially, Jane’s admission that she feels like the one with a target on her back sets the stage for the suspense and danger that will follow. This opening efficiently hooks the reader by blending character, action, and mystery.
Study Questions and Answers
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What does the shooting range setting reveal about Jane and Jimmy’s history?
The range is a familiar place for two ex-cops who have survived dangerous encounters. Their competition shows they maintain their skills and camaraderie. The mention of the Walking Dunes shootout indicates they share trauma from a recent violent event, reinforcing their bond as partners who have faced death together. -
How does the banter about cancer and losing deepen Jane’s characterization?
Jane’s insistence that she never loses is immediately undercut by Jimmy’s reference to cancer. Her reply—“To be determined”—shows she refuses to concede defeat even in the face of a life-threatening illness. This exchange reveals that her competitiveness is both a strength and a shield, masking anxiety about her health and mortality. -
Why does Jane want to keep shooting after hitting all six targets?
Her desire to reload and continue firing reflects her inner turmoil. Despite outward success (a perfect round), she feels unsafe and under attack. The shooting range gives her a temporary sense of power and control that she lacks in her daily life—as a lawyer defending an accused killer and as a person who feels targeted for the past eight months.
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