Peyton Place

Tom and Constance are now happily married; Allison has moved to New York City, which Constance feels ambivalent about. On the night of Nellie’s death, when Tom and Allison had both abruptly found out the truth about Constance’s past, Constance had been terrified that Tom would leave her. Tom forced Constance to finally tell the truth about her past, freeing her from shame, and cementing the bond between them. They got married almost immediately afterwards. Constance is very happy but worries that Allison judges her. Selena now works as a manager at the store that Constance owns.

Seth Buswell is no longer friends with Leslie Harrington. After Kathy was injured in 1939, her family sued Leslie on grounds of negligence since he had funded and been in charge of the fair. This was very controversial since Leslie was such a wealthy and powerful man in the town. Allison testified about witnessing the accident and had also encouraged Seth to write about the injustice of the trial in the newspaper.

Months pass, and it is now the winter of 1943. Many young men from Peyton Place are serving in World War II. Paul Cross is away fighting in the war; Selena lives with Joey and works at Constance’s shop. She is somewhat unhappy that Ted Carter, now her fiancé, is at college and exempt from service because she thinks the war is patriotic. Ted is looking forward to attending law school and marrying Selena in a few years; his parents have softened towards her after the death of her mother.

One evening in December, Lucas Cross unexpectedly turns up at the house and begins threatening Selena. She defends herself and then ends up killing him by hitting him repeatedly in the head. Desperate, Joey and Selena decide to bury the body on their property, and they do not tell anyone what happened.

In early January 1944, Kenny Stearns wanders into a local church while extremely intoxicated. His drunken ravings are interpreted as signs of prophecy; Kenny is welcomed into the church and eventually converts, taking his new religion extremely seriously. This conversion leads to a lot of gossip in Peyton Place; because most people are interested in Kenny’s story, no one is very interested when officials come to ask about Lucas Cross, who has been reported missing. Joey and Selena say they have not seen him since 1939, and everyone in town believes this to be true.

In March 1944, Norman Page returns from serving in Europe, ostensibly because he has been wounded, and is hailed as hero. However, Dr. Swain confides to Seth that he doesn’t think Norman has actually been injured; Dr. Swain does some research and finds that Norman “had been given a medical discharge on the grounds that he was mentally unfit to handle the duties of a soldier” (307). They decide not to tell anyone.

The narrative reveals that when Evelyn Page (Norman’s mother) learned that her son had been sent home due to psychological trauma, she was very ashamed, and concocted the story that he had been wounded. Norman agreed to play along. He finds a job working in Peyton Place, and lives quietly with his mother.

Meanwhile, Rodney Harrington and his father, Leslie, have largely lost the respect of the town. People judge Leslie for not having offered financial compensation to Kathy after her injury, and they also judge Rodney for not having enlisted to serve in the war. Rodney continues his reckless behavior and is killed in a car accident in the spring of 1944.

At a town hall meeting, shortly after Rodney’s death, Dr. Swain, Seth Buswell, and others show support for Leslie Harrington out of respect for the loss of his son.

In spring of 1944, a traveling salesman passes through Peyton Place; he mentions to Buck McCracken (the town sheriff) that he had previously visited Peyton Place in December, and that he had been accompanied by a man matching the description of Lucas Cross. Buck is confused because when Lucas’s disappearance was being investigated, no one reported having seen him in Peyton Place.

Buck wonders why Lucas would have visited the town without going to see his own children. He questions Selena and Joey again, and they initially insist that they never saw Lucas in December. However, Buck continues to investigate and eventually finds incriminating evidence that was deposited in the town dump. He goes to confront Joey and Selena again; Joey at first tries to take the blame, but then Selena admits to killing Lucas and hiding the body.

Selena’s trial begins and attracts a lot of attention and many visitors to Peyton Place. One of the visitors, a journalist, learns the story of how Peyton Place is named after a Black man named Samuel Peyton, a formerly enslaved man who made a fortune in France and built an expensive, castle-like home on the outskirts of the town.

Constance is very loyal to Selena and protective of her; she offers to pay Selena’s legal fees. Like many people, Constance believes that Selena must have had a good reason for killing Lucas and wonders why Selena refuses to explain anything about the context of the conflict. Likewise, Ted (Selena’s fiancé) urges her to offer some rationale and justification for her actions, but Selena refuses: “What else is there to say? […] I killed him and that’s the end of it” (334). Ted worries about his future and begins to distance himself from Selena. Meanwhile, Dr. Swain is tormented by the information he knows about the history between Lucas and Selena.

Allison returns to Peyton Place from New York City; she is going to attend Selena’s trial and also potentially write about it. Allison stays with Constance and Tom (her mother and stepfather) but is very curt and rude with them. She doesn’t reveal what is making her unhappy.

Selena’s trial begins in June 1944. At the start of the trial, Selena surprises everyone by repudiating her previous confession and changing her plea to not guilty. Dr. Swain comes forward and explains that Lucas raped and impregnated Selena; he admits to performing an abortion and reveals that he has a signed confession from Lucas. The jury immediately believes everything Dr. Swain has shared, and quickly finds Selena not guilty on grounds of self-defense.

After Selena’s trial, Allison stays in Peyton Place. She is heartbroken because during her time in New York, she fell in love with an older man named Bradley Holmes.

Bradley repeatedly tried to tell Allison that he was too old for her and even introduced her to younger men, including a novelist named David. David fell in love with Allison, but she remained infatuated with Bradley. Bradley and Allison began a sexual relationship; he only explained later that he is married with children. Devastated, Allison seized the opportunity to return to Peyton Place when she heard about Selena’s trial.

Impulsively, Allison writes to David and tells him everything that transpired between herself and Bradley. She assumes that will be the end of their relationship. Time passes, and by October, Allison is feeling more grounded and hopeful due to the restorative experience of being back in her hometown. As the novel ends, David arrives in Peyton Place to see her, signaling the start of a new potential romantic relationship.