Content Warning: This section of the guide deals with themes related to the Nazi occupation of Paris during WWII, child loss, the Holocaust, war and its traumatic effects, concentration camps, extermination camps, antisemitism, intense racism, sexism, and genocide. The novel offers a depiction of WWII Paris that is sometimes inaccurate and papers over issues of genocide, fascism, and antisemitism.

Elise LeClair is an American-born artist married to the famous French painter Olivier LeClair. She is currently living in Paris and is pregnant with their first child. She attempts to sketch the birds in her local park to use as a reference for her preferred medium of wood sculpture but is frustrated and unsatisfied with her efforts. When she stands to leave she is arrested by a sharp pain in her abdomen that later turns out to be false contractions. Juliette Foulon, also heavily pregnant, sees Elise’s distress as she passes by. She introduces herself and her two young sons, Claude and Alphonse, then insists that Elise return home with her to seek medical attention just in case.