The narrator, Ann Stilwell, looks back on her summer at the Cloisters. She remembers a dead body in the library, and the way jealousy and ambition infiltrated her workplace. She considers the nature of luck, fortune, and divination; in hindsight, she can see that all the signs pointing to her fate were already in place.

Ann prepares to move from her hometown of Walla Walla, Washington, to a new job in New York City. All her other applications were rejected, but she managed to secure a summer internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She believes the placement was a favor to her mentor, professor Richard Lingraf. Ann studied with Lingraf at her college, a place where both her parents worked. Her father was recently killed in a hit-and-run accident; he was passionate about languages and passed his passion on to Ann.

Ann prepares to leave the restaurant in Walla Walla where she works. Her colleagues tell her she’s welcome to return, but Ann hopes never to come back. Soon after, Ann graduates from college with a degree in art history. She was the only student to specialize in early renaissance art. Others have told her this isn’t a profitable or popular career path.