Prologue
Where is Dana when the novel begins?
Dana is in a hospital.
What is the name of the drowning boy?
Rufus Weylin.
What danger summons Dana during her second trip to the past?
Rufus has set his bedroom curtains on fire.
How did Dana and Kevin first meet?
They worked at an auto-parts warehouse through a temporary labor agency.
Who is Dana's husband and a fellow writer?
Kevin Franklin.
What permanent injury has Dana suffered?
Dana has lost her left arm.
How does Dana save Rufus?
She pulls him from the river and revives him with artificial respiration.
Why does Rufus say that he started the fire?
He wanted revenge because his father beat him after he stole a dollar.
Why are Dana and Kevin transported to Maryland in 1819?
Rufus falls from a tree and breaks his leg; Kevin is holding Dana when she travels.
Which enslaved boy asks Dana to teach him to read?
Nigel.
Who is questioned by the police about Dana's injury?
Kevin Franklin.
Who hits Dana while Dana is trying to revive Rufus?
Margaret Weylin, Rufus's mother.
Where and when does Dana learn that she is?
On the Weylin plantation in Maryland in 1815.
Why do Dana and Kevin pretend that Kevin owns Dana?
They need a believable cover story to protect Dana from suspicion.
Who is Sarah's mute daughter?
Carrie.
Why do the police suspect Kevin may have hurt Dana?
Dana's injury has no believable explanation.
Who points a rifle at Dana after Rufus begins breathing again?
Tom Weylin, Rufus's father.
What does Dana see the group of white patrollers do at the cabin?
They drag Black people outside, question a man about his pass, and whip him.
What happened to three of Sarah's four children?
Tom Weylin sold them away from Sarah.
What name helps Dana connect Rufus to her family history?
Alice Greenwood.
What central mystery does the Prologue create for the reader?
The reader wants to learn how Dana lost her arm.
What sends Dana back to 1976 at the end of this chapter?
Her fear when Tom Weylin points a rifle at her.
How does Dana defend herself against the patroller who attacks her?
She punches him and strikes him on the head with a stick.
What causes Dana to return to 1976 without Kevin?
Tom catches her teaching Nigel and Carrie and whips her; her fear and pain send her home.
Why does Dana want to influence Rufus while he is still young?
She hopes to keep him from becoming like his father and make him protect her in the future.