Emily's life becomes quite simple. She eats plain meals and runs for miles every day. As her body shrinks, she gets to know the few people that hover around the island (Vermillion Key is mostly devoid of tourists). The only person Emily visits is Deke Hollis, an old friend of her father who runs the drawbridge on the island. During a chance meeting, Hollis tells Emily that Jim Pickering, a man who own an estate on the island, is back. He has brought along a "niece"—Hollis's polite name for the young women who Pickering lures to his home. Emily prepares to continue, but Hollis warns her that Pickering is "not a very nice man."