The young Alice, accompanied by her sister, Delphine, travels to upstate New York upon receiving an invitation from Peter Van Laar, who previously escorted her when she made her official debut in high society. Because she is 18 and Peter is 29, Alice is unsure why he would be interested in her.

The driver who meets them at the train station tells them about the Van Laar family’s estate; the house was shipped in pieces from Switzerland then reassembled and named “Self-Reliance” after Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay. Over dinner that night, Peter and his father offer their version of the driver’s story—one that features their ancestor, Peter I, doing the work by hand rather than hiring laborers. They also explain the camp that Peter I established. Alice decides that if the younger Peter asks, she will indeed marry him despite the difference in their ages. Nine months after their wedding, their son—another Peter—is born and is nicknamed “Bear.”

Alice settles into life as Bear’s mother and adores him. He is a talented child who, to her relief, shares none of her physical features. Because she has no friends and no hobbies, Bear is Alice’s only company during Peter’s frequent business trips to Manhattan.