Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421

The novel skips back to three hours before the crash. Chris, Will’s estranged wife and Shannon’s mother, is renovating the house in Hawaii that she and Will designed and built together. They bought the house 16 years ago and named it ho’oa’a, which means “to develop roots” (49). They designed and worked on the unfinished house together until six years ago, when their oldest daughter, Annie, died. Annie slipped and hit her head during a trip to the public pool and died from her head injury. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Will and Chris drifted apart and fought constantly before finally deciding to separate. Last year, Chris started to work on the house again on her own.

Will’s car pulls up to the house, and he reflects on Annie’s death. He is worried about Shannon’s upcoming trip and thinks that they should not take the flight—she is going to camp in San Francisco, and Will insists on flying with her. He goes into the house to pick her up anyway. Chris tells Will that while he and Shannon are gone, she plans to finally pack up Annie’s room, but Will is resistant to this.