Addy Kurc is living in Toulouse, France, just outside of Paris. He is an engineer and classical composer who came to France six years before from his hometown of Radom, Poland. He has just come from a night of carousing with his friends in Montmartre. Some people have fled to the countryside, worried about the possible outbreak of war, but Addy’s musician and artist friends are unconcerned.

Addy rereads a letter from his mother, who warns him that conditions in Radom are worsening for Jews. His parents feel that Addy should not return home for Passover since travel across German borders seems too dangerous. Addy is not surprised to hear that conditions are worsening in Radom, but he is concerned that his fearless mother now seems afraid. Nothing is more important to his mother than family, so for her to ask him to not return home for Passover troubles Addy.

Addy thinks about the news from Germany and about the persecution of Jews. Even in Paris there are swastikas painted on walls. Addy had downplayed these signs in his mind: “Now, though, with his mother’s letter in hand, he sees with alarming clarity the warnings he’d chosen to ignore” (7).