A woman, later implied to be Lucy Carter, reflects on her relationship with a former lover. Having seen him in happiness and sorrow, she notes she will try to find the good in their sad story, as he taught her to do.

Lucy Carter is in a Shakespeare seminar at Columbia University during her senior year when Gabriel Samson sits beside her. In a discussion of Julius Caesar, the class debates Brutus’ assertion that life is ruled by fate. A teaching assistant rushes in to announce that a plane has hit one of the twin towers.

After class, there is chaos on campus. Both towers have collapsed. Lucy goes home with Gabe and meets his roommates. They watch the news on television in a dorm only seven miles from the towers. Their cellphones are no longer working, so they use a landline to call their parents. Lucy’s parents want her to come home, but she insists on staying in the city. Gabe touches her hair but pulls away when he realizes what he has done.