Protagonist Paul Christopher's beautiful and busty lover of two years, Molly is murdered in a hit-and-run accident in on a rainy night in Paris, just after Paul leaves for Saigon, Vietnam. Her death is the pretext for looking back to the evolution of "The Outfit." Her death is described briefly and poignantly in the Prologue and her life is developed somewhat in Book III. For a full portrait, one must read The Tears of Autumn.