Los Angeles

In the novel’s closing time jump—five, eight, or ten years later—Los Angeles is home to both Hannah Hall and Bailey Michaels, placing them near one another after years of danger and separation. The city also becomes the setting for Hannah’s professional return to public life, though the possibility of being watched continues to shape how safely she can inhabit it.

Setting and Work

Hannah is in Los Angeles for a First Look exhibition at the Pacific Design Center, where she joins twenty-one other artisans and producers. In the showroom provided for the event, she debuts a collection of white oak work: mostly furniture, along with bowls and larger pieces. The exhibition offers exposure to prospective clients, but it also feels like a reunion, with architects and colleagues stopping to catch up. As the afternoon approaches six, Hannah grows tired of the small talk and begins looking past people rather than at them.

Hannah and Bailey’s Life in the City

Bailey is due to meet Hannah for dinner and plans to bring Shep, a hedge funder she has recently started dating. Hannah privately counts his line of work and his name against him, but is glad that Bailey’s attention is on ordinary dating choices. The detail gives their life in Los Angeles a measure of domestic normality: Bailey is grown, dating, and close enough to meet Hannah after work. Hannah says they both live in the city, not far from the ocean and, more importantly, not far from each other.

Safety and the Shadow of Owen’s Past

After Bailey graduates from high school, Hannah sells the floating house. The move does not persuade her that the danger has passed: she assumes that shadowy figures are still keeping tabs on them in case Owen returns. She behaves as though they are always watching, even though she cannot identify them. In airports or outside restaurants, she sometimes thinks she sees someone, then scrutinizes anyone who looks at her for too long. That vigilance keeps people at a distance, a cost she accepts because she has the people she needs. Los Angeles thus offers Hannah and Bailey a shared home, but not a clean escape from the surveillance threat attached to Owen’s possible return.