Jameson wakes up with the other competitors at the site of this year’s Game: Vantage. Rohan announces that Alistair, the Proprietor, allowed him to design the Game and that if no one wins, Rohan may be able to claim the prize. On the grounds, there are three keys and three boxes. Two of the boxes contain secrets—presumably Jameson’s or Branford’s—and the third box contains something else. To win, the competitors must claim the third box and tell Rohan what they found inside it before time runs out. Rohan locks them all in the grand room, telling them that when the bells ring, they’ll be allowed out onto the grounds and have 24 hours to search.

The players in this year’s Game are Avery, Jameson, Zella (a duchess), Branford (the middle Johnstone-Jameson son), and Katherine, a woman who works for the eldest Johnstone-Jameson son. Given that each of the players has a connection to the Johnstone-Jameson family and to Vantage, Jameson wonders about Zella and her history. While the other players argue, Jameson notices a book Rohan left in the room, The Smugglers’ Cave and Other Stories (250). He and Avery look through the book without drawing attention to themselves and find a pressed poppy and a note from Rohan on the back page: “Ladies first.