Dr. Martin Martens, a mild-mannered bachelor from the wealthy hamlet of Guilford Bay, on the border between Canada and the US, falls in love late in life with Milly, a Londoner half his age, while on a business trip. But when he brings his young bride home, their life together is far from idyllic. His discovery of her love affair leaves three dead, another on the run, and Dr. Martens alone to ponder the tragic events of one late summer night.
"There was a young man with his back to us as we were walking over, and when he turned, even I saw what happened, even I could feel then the brief moment of electricity charge the air, which I acknowledged and ignored, putting it aside as a part of being married to a younger woman. And I could feel it in her too, slightly - a tremor in her hand, a brief hesitation in her step, like a small wind had blown up before her: then all three of us continued as if nothing had happened, although, in that one moment, as he had turned and we were approaching, three whole worlds had changed.
"Martin," Medes said. "This is Dr. Jack Gordon."