The Pact (1998) is the fifth novel by the American author Jodi Picoult about a possible suicide pact between two teenage lovers, and the journey that one must take after losing a loved one. Structure The Pact does not have traditional numbered chapters. The novel alternates between a series of present-day occurrences, labelled as "Now", and past events, labelled as "Then", which provides context to the relationships of the characters and the story line. Each segment of the novel contains a different character's perspective, while being narrated in the third person. The interplay between past and present throughout the story leads to a climactic revelation that provides an answer to the "who done it" mystery. Plot In the fall of 1979, the Golds, consisting of a recently pregnant Melanie Gold and her husband Michael Gold, moved into the small town of Bainbridge, New Hampshire. They moved in next door to the Hartes, another coincidentally pregnant couple, and through their shared interests, the women, Gus Harte and Melanie Gold, began to forge a lasting friendship. Their husbands, James Harte and Michael Gold would follow suit and the families would soon raise their firstborns together. From the moment they were delivered from the womb it seemed that Emily Gold and Chris Harte were destined to be together, and their parents certainly hoped that to be the case. By the time Chris and Emily were teenagers it was easy for them to develop feelings for each other and before they knew it they were dating. Everything seemed perfect, until a 3 a.m. telephone call to both family homes sent them running to the hospital. Chris and Emily had been found at the carousel where Chris worked, he was unconscious with an open head wound, and she had a gun shot to the head from a gun Chris' father owned. Emily was later pronounced dead in the emergency room When a detective comes looking for Chris to answer questions about Emily's death, he learns that he is the main suspect in her death, which is being investigated as a homicide. However, Chris claims that he and Emily made a suicide pact, and he had fallen unconscious before he had the chance to end his own life as well. When a grieving Melanie caught wind of this, she is relieved to have the finger turned away from herself after struggling to believe she had not