Lady in the Lake opens with Cleo Sherwood’s first-person narration. Speaking rhetorically to Maddie Schwartz, Cleo reminds her that they once exchanged glances a year before Cleo went missing; at that time, Cleo was still hopeful that she could find the perfect man to provide for her and her sons. The two women locked eyes as Maddie and her husband, Milton, stood outside their synagogue in Cleo’s neighborhood. Cleo was impressed that Milton had married someone so elegant and attractive, becoming determined to emulate Maddie: the kind of woman whose presence and appearance complemented and elevated a man’s stature. Cleo challenges accusations that she has abandoned her sons to her parents’ care. Cleo believes she needed to live on her own to attract the right partner; the arrangement was only temporary. Cleo concludes by expressing her resentment of Maddie’s meddling: Cleo is frustrated that Maddie has used her death as a vehicle for Maddie’s own gain, careless of the ripples of harm this effort has caused.

When her husband, Milton Schwartz, calls to tell Maddie he has invited a local television personality to dinner, Maddie is ruffled. Maddie has adopted the persona of an ideal midcentury American housewife, priding herself on appearing prepared and poised.