Key plot details
- 1945. Francis Cassavant returns to Frenchtown after the war. He has severe injuries to his face and wears a scarf and a bandage, to disguise himself. He rents a room in Mrs Belander’s A house in which rooms can be rented.. He lights a candle in church and prays for forgiveness for what he intends to do, which is to kill Larry LaSalle.
- 1939. Flashback to Francis’ first meeting with Nicole Renard when they were in The same as Year 7 in British schools.. He adored her from a distance but was too shy to speak to her. One day Nicole speaks to him.
- 1945. Francis lies to Mrs Belander about his parents because he does not want to be recognised. He goes to bed one night thinking about all the soldiers in his A company of soldiers.. Their horrific injuries are described. He meets an old friend, Arthur Rivier, but does not reveal his identity. Arthur invites Francis for a drink at St Jude’s Club where he sees several other old friends who have also returned from the war.
- The Wreck Centre’s history is narrated. It used to be called Grenier Hall, but there was a terrible tragedy there many years earlier when a bride was murdered by a jealous ex-lover. Since then there have been rumours about it being an unlucky place. Joey LeBlanc, who died in the war, predicted that the Wreck Centre would cause bad things to happen. Francis explains how Larry LaSalle transformed the Wreck Centre and the lives of Frenchtown’s young people, with sports, crafts and dance lessons. Larry is described as looking like a movie star. There is a hint at his mysterious past.
- 1939. Larry encourages Francis to take up table tennis, at which Francis excels. He wins a tournament and grows more confident. Nicole calls him her
champion.
- 1941. Pearl Harbor is bombed. Larry is one of the first men from Frenchtown to enlist in the forces; he becomes a marine. Francis gets a job in the local A type of store which sells medicines, toiletries and milkshakes. and begins to go on regular dates to the movies with Nicole. On one occasion Larry is shown on the news for his bravery in the war.
- 1942. Larry comes home on leave. After a celebration at City Hall, Larry takes some of the young people to the Wreck Centre. Eventually everybody leaves apart from Larry, Nicole and Francis. Larry tells Francis to leave but Nicole quietly asks Francis to stay. Francis leaves the room and hides in the hallway. He hears Larry raping Nicole but is too afraid to do anything. Nicole runs out of the room with her blouse torn, sees Francis and accuses him of doing nothing to help her.
- 1945. Francis hears that Larry is back in Frenchtown so he goes to see him, intending to shoot him. Larry is weak and disabled now and says that Francis could not have stopped him raping Nicole as he was just a child. He implies that he has attacked other young girls in the past. Francis hears a shot as he leaves the building and knows that Larry has killed himself. Later, Francis finds the school where Nicole is and travels to visit her. She tells him that she realises that he could not have helped her. Francis understands that they can never rekindle their relationship and he says goodbye. She kisses him and tells him to become a writer.