One Puzzling Afternoon

Edie Green was a lonely teen until Lucy Treddle, daughter of the mayor, befriended her in 1951. While Edie was glad that their friendship meant Lucy’s friends wouldn’t taunt her, Lucy had her own reasons to seek out Edie. She had secrets, and she needed Edie to keep them—which Edie did for 67 years, even after Lucy vanished and the police opened an investigation. In 2018, Edie, now dealing with dementia, thinks she sees Lucy on the street, looking just as she did in 1951. When she claims to have seen her friend, family members think Edie’s just muddled again. Her granddaughter tries to help her, but she doesn’t realize how desperate Edie feels. She is convinced that all the clues to finding her friend are buried in her memory and feels that if she can find Lucy, her confusion and memory loss will disappear. In dual timelines, 1951 and 2018, Edie slowly reveals the truth about Lucy and her secrets.