rise of the automobile. Noah handled the bankruptcy case and, to the amazement of all, managed to return some money to the investors. The novel, however, begins to hint at a darker side to Noah's brilliance. He ridicules an elderly woman for wanting to move some of her funds from bonds into stocks. He bristles at the suggestion that the endowment of the parish could be transferred to management by the dioceses. During a hearing which Arthur supervises, Noah has an outburst when questioned about the assets of the McCarthy estate. Arthur concludes that Ralph Detweiler, though selfish and cowardly, is probably innocent of the rape charge, and he expects to have the case dismissed. But Ralph jumps bail and flees to New York. Ralph's sister Helen, obsessed with respectability, commits suicide in shame. As Arthur examines the records that Helen had been maintaining, he discovers that Noah has been embezzling from the trusts that he managed—this was the source of the money from the bankruptcy settlement. Noah embezzled $200,000 from the "Orcutt bequest" and has since been manipulating the money in his trusts, robbing Peter to pay Paul while attempting to replenish the funds. Arthur also learns that Julius Penrose has been aware of the embezzlement for some time. But Julius urges Arthur to keep quiet, hinting that he is aware of Arthur's affair with his wife, and that he is grateful that he has been silent about that. Arthur contemplates his position, where there are no good choices. He says, "Life, that has unfairly served so many others, at last unfairly serves me." Main characters Arthur Winner – A middle-aged small town lawyer. He is the central character. Hope Winner (deceased) - Arthur's first wife, who died giving birth to his now teenage daughter. Clarissa Winner – Arthur's second wife, who was his daughter's tennis coach, is considerably younger than Arthur. She is a more passionate lover than his first wife was, and he feels somewhat guilty about enjoying himself so much. An extended love-making passage about Arthur and Clarissa is highly praised by some critics and derided by others. Arthur Winner, Senior (deceased) – Arthur's father and (with Noah Tuttle) founder of his law firm. He is referred to as the "Man of Reason". Warren Winner (deceased) - Arthur's elder son, whom he found ungovernable. He was expelled from boarding school for striking a teacher. The flashback