Looking for Jane

Content Warning: This section contains descriptions of abortion, miscarriage, death by suicide, and sexual assault; it also quotes an instance of misogynistic language.

In 2010 Toronto, a letter is misdelivered to Thompson’s Antiques and Used Books; the letter was intended for Nancy Mitchell, who lives in the apartment above the shop. The narrator does not reveal what the letter contains but hints at its importance: “Its contents wouldn’t be discovered for another seven years. And that letter would change three women’s lives forever” (10).

It is January of 2017 in Toronto, Canada. Angela is late for work. She is a manager at Thompson’s Antiques and Used Books, which Angela’s aunt owns. Angela overslept after a night of drinking with her friends. She reflects that she hasn’t been able to drink much recently because she and her wife, Tina, are trying to have a baby. Angela has had multiple rounds of fertility treatments and had a miscarriage not too long ago. She is feeling the grief and stress of that experience and mentally preparing for another round of fertility treatments.

It is a quiet Sunday in the shop, and Angela finds a marble box stashed in one of the antique dressers.