Faith recounts the times she has had her life saved, and reflects that she’ll never want a death like her mother’s. The women with her in this hospital room have saved her life more times than she can count. They include big-hearted Audrey, who long ago told Faith to believe in herself and stop trying to be perfect; Kari, the widow who has remained optimistic through everything; Slip, the small dynamo; and Merit. They sing and discuss the next selection for their book club, and the nurse mistakes them for sisters because they get along so well.

The Fuller Brush salesman comes to Freesia Court, a pretty neighborhood near Minnehaha Creek, and gets a hostile reception during a cold snap in March. Faith Owens is packing a suitcase for her husband, a pilot, who will be flying out again. Audrey Forrest is enjoying a post-coital glow and letting her boys fight. Merit Iverson, who has the face of an angel, is nervously smoking and asking her husband, a doctor, if it will hurt the baby.

Marjorie McMahon is nicknamed Slip because she is small. She comes outside to help her neighbor, Kari, dislodge an icicle.