In "The Rope," Barr gathers together the many strings of Anna Pigeon's past and finally reveals the story of her first case. In 1995, 35-year-old Anna Pigeon takes a decidedly unglamorous job as a seasonal employee of the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area. On her day off, Anna goes hiking into the park never to return. Her co-workers think she's simply moved on--her cabin is cleaned out and her things gone. But Anna herself wakes up, trapped at the bottom of a dry natural well, naked, without supplies, and no clear memory of how she got herself in this situation.