At nineteen, Lucy Josephine Potter leaves her British-ruled Caribbean homeland with high hopes for the future, but she instantly grows disillusioned upon arriving in America to work as an au pair for an affluent family, whose lives, to her, seem incredibly charmed. After years of dreaming of escape from her birthplace, she finds her new surroundings cold and mundane and suffers intense homesickness. She dismisses her former dreams of a better existence as mere fantasies. Though she always felt out-of-place in her native land, she experiences extreme isolation in her new country, and while she likes her employers, Lewis and Mariah and wants one day to emulate their happy family life, her initial attempt to reach out to them breeds only misunderstanding. Lucy grows closer to Mariah but also marvels at the differences between her impoverished colonial background and Mariah’s privileged circumstances. Despite Lucy’s frequent memories of home, she speaks bitterly of those she left behind and focuses increasingly on thoughts of her mother, toward whom she feels …show more content…
A year after Lucy’s arrival in America, she once again finds herself embarking on a fresh start, and while she appreciates having her own place and belongings, her changed circumstances please her less than she’d hoped. Peggy proves an irritating roommate, her office job falls short of her expectations, and Paul’s constant presence at her new home annoys her. Before Mariah moves away, Lucy and Mariah have a pleasant visit, but Lucy wonders if she’ll ever see her again. Peggy and Paul appear to develop a secret relationship, but Lucy feels so disconnected from them that she hardly minds. Having finally achieved her independence, Lucy wishes she had the capacity to experience profound