A Son at the Front Chapter I

In which Mr. Campton, an American painter residing in Paris, reflects on his unexpectedly rising reputation amid the uneasy atmosphere preceding a looming conflict, all the while cherishing the imminent arrival of his son for a long-anticipated journey. The reverberations of political tensions ripple through his acquaintances and friends—some anxious, some dismissive—yet Campton remains wistfully hopeful that personal plans and renewed familial bonds might withstand the approaching storm.