In this chapter, the reader is introduced to a new character, a young woman named Sofia. She is the daughter of a wealthy Italian family, and she was raised by a well-to-do Italian father. When she was a child, her father was a close friend of hers, and the two of them were very fond of one another. However, after the death of her father, she was forced to return to her family in Florence, Italy, where she is now living with her father's sister.