All the Colors of the Dark (Whitaker)
Short summary
Missouri, 1975. Thirteen-year-old Joseph Macauley intervened when a man in a balaclava attacked a girl, but was fatally stabbed in the process.
His friend discovered him missing and found his bloodied shirt. Patch was abducted by photographer Eli Aaron, who held him captive with a girl named Grace in a dark underground room.
Grace comforted Patch, shared stories, and helped him survive. They fell deeply in love during their captivity. Saint tracked down Eli Aaron's house and rescued Patch, though he was gravely injured.
Patch spent years obsessively searching for Grace, painting her portrait and robbing banks to fund his quest. He had a daughter, Charlotte, with Misty Meyer, but killed Saint's abusive husband Jimmy and was imprisoned. Saint became an FBI agent hunting missing girls.
After escaping prison, Patch finally found Grace in Alabama, still held captive by her father, Eli Aaron. Saint arrived and shot Eli Aaron, saving them both.
To love and be loved was more than could ever be expected, more than enough for a thousand ordinary lifetimes. She did not understand that until then.
Saint arrested Patch, but their profound bond remained. Years later, Charlotte and Saint found Patch living on a sailboat in the Outer Banks, finally at peace.
Detailed summary by parts
The Pirate and the Beekeeper
In 1975, thirteen-year-old Patch stood on his roof in Monta Clare, Missouri, dreaming of a brighter future beyond the Ozark Plateau, unaware that he would die later that morning.
At thirteen he believed entirely that there was gold beyond the Ozark Plateau. That there was a brighter world just waiting for him. Though later that morning, when he lay dying in the woodland...
His mother fostered his pirate fantasy to help him cope with being born with only one eye, filling his room with pirate relics and handmade eye patches.
Patch lived with his mother in poverty, and she constantly sought new opportunities while working night shifts. Despite their hardships, she urged him to avoid fighting and stealing for a fresh start, though he resisted. That morning, while maintaining the property, Patch encountered bullies in an alley but escaped by intimidating them with tales of Blackbeard's death. Soon after, Patch witnessed a man in a balaclava attacking a girl. He intervened to save her, allowing her to escape, but was fatally stabbed in the process.
Saint, a young beekeeper, discovered her hive empty that morning and, after learning about the attack from the rescued girl at the police station, rushed to the woodland where she found Patch's bloodied shirt.
As news spread of the missing child, the town gathered at the woodland edge. A witness reported seeing a van on Highway 35. Saint defied her grandmother's curfew to investigate, cycling to the house of the rescued girl, but was turned away. The next day, Saint was rejected from the search party, while others combed the woodland for evidence. Four days after the abduction, Saint tirelessly searched and haunted the police station. She learned the rescued girl had seen a doctor in the woods, but the police chief claimed he was searching for his dog.
The Lovers, the Dreamers
Patch awakened in utter darkness and severe pain, wondering if he was dead. He discovered physical injuries and realized he was not alone. A mysterious girl tended to him, giving him pills and water.
Our universe is black. ... Everything is contained in this room with no light at all. Even when we get out, we’ll take it with us, our own private black hole that’ll swallow every good thing.
She shared cryptic thoughts on life and love, warned him about a dangerous man, and urged him to pray and believe to stay alive, unlike the other girls who had been there before. The woman comforted Patch in their dark confinement, sharing stories of hope. She revealed he was the first boy among previously held girls, and now she was the only one left. She finally shared her name: Grace.
The Painter
After a fire at a photographer's home, police discovered charred clippings about missing girls and later found the remains of three missing females in a deep grave. Saint vigilantly stayed by Patch's hospital bed for six days until he woke. Upon returning home, Patch felt estranged from himself, haunted by unhealed wounds and fragmented memories of Grace. Patch repeatedly tried to see the rescued girl, who was now dating a popular boy. He stole a car and went to a library to research missing persons, discovering a pattern of missing girls. He vowed to find Grace if authorities failed.
Meanwhile, Patch took over his mother's night cleaning job and began stealing drawing supplies from a gallery, where the owner recognized him as a hero and eventually offered him a studio and supplies. Patch created vague posters to find Grace, remembering her physical details. The rescued girl brought him meals and expressed her guilt over the past event. Patch reassured her but felt unworthy. After a nightmare, he rushed to the art studio, obsessively drawing Grace from memory in numerous abstract pieces, though he ultimately destroyed his work in frustration.
Under the gallery owner's harsh guidance, Patch spent ten months painting, enduring constant criticism while living in the studio.
After countless failures, the painting was finally deemed complete. The police chief made fifty copies to circulate nationally. At a party, the rescued girl expressed her feelings for Patch and handed him an envelope before leaving.
The Broken Hearts
By 1978, Patch and Misty's teenage love story unfolded, marked by his dangerous mine work and her blossoming grace. Patch secretly continued searching for Grace while navigating his demanding job and Misty's unwavering support. He painted missing girls and sent the portraits to their mothers. Saint secured local news coverage for Patch's art show, where one painting was purchased, though Patch refused to sell the first painting of Grace. Misty's father offered Patch money, acknowledging the love between him and Misty but emphasizing her Harvard future and the impossibility of their long-term relationship.
At prom, Misty compelled Patch to dance with her and confessed her love, but Patch was deeply burdened. Their argument about her future in Boston escalated into a painful breakup, with Patch admitting he never loved her back, comparing her unfavorably to Grace.
Cops and Robbers
By 1982, Saint and the police chief investigated a gas station robbery. Their conversation revealed Saint's past with Patch and the grim details of a doctor's murder trial. Patch, searching for missing girls, traveled across states, painting portraits of the lost and connecting with grieving families. Running out of money, he robbed a bank with an unloaded gun, apologizing to the teller, and planned to donate most of the money to a missing persons charity. Saint married a veterinarian named Jimmy, though her heart ached for Patch.
During her wedding, she briefly reconnected with Patch outside the church, revealing her deep dissatisfaction and fear about her new life. Saint flew to Kansas City for a mysterious FBI assignment, where an agent revealed extensive knowledge of her past and tasked her with investigating a series of bank robberies committed by a robber using a distinctive flintlock pistol. Saint interviewed a bank teller who romanticized the charming robber. Upon viewing the security tape, Saint recognized Patch. She received a call from him, and their conversation, filled with veiled threats and affection, highlighted their opposing roles, culminating in Saint's tearful vow to take him down if necessary.
The Hunt
In 1983, Saint balanced city life and visits to Jimmy, who resented her Kansas stays. She transformed her appearance and routine, finding peace in solitude. Her mission involved finding Patch, using FBI resources to also search for Grace. Saint relentlessly tracked Patch, balancing her mundane job with nomadic surveillance. She excelled, apprehending multiple bank robbers and earning recognition. Saint returned home to find Jimmy drunk. She told him she was pregnant but went to a clinic to terminate the pregnancy. Jimmy reacted with blind rage, violently attacking her. As she was beaten, Saint cried out for Patch's help.
Patch called Saint's grandmother, who pleaded with him to surrender, but ultimately told him he was breaking Saint's heart and that Saint no longer needed him. Saint pursued Patch through the Arizona desert, confronting him by a treacherous road. She found him searching for Grace. After a tense exchange, Saint revealed Jimmy assaulted her and confessed that the doctor killed Patch's beloved. Despite their shared past and her emotional turmoil, Saint, having failed to convince Patch to surrender, fatally shot him as he attempted to flee.
Fate
By 1990, Saint picked up Patch from prison after six years. They drove, sharing quiet moments and discussing his incarceration's impact. Patch returned to his old house, where Sammy brought him money from a painting sale and six years of news footage. Released from prison, Patch navigated his new freedom, supported by Saint. He reunited with Misty, whose smile captivated him. Misty and Patch, recalling past love, shared wine on a hill. He recounted his twelve-year prison ordeal and his profound grief for Grace. He mentioned a mysterious connection between Grace and a state park, and Misty agreed to join him.
They drove to a remote location where a body might be buried, but after investigating, they realized their informant had lied, suggesting the victim might still be alive. Patch meticulously built a large house, painting it white with specific details influenced by memories. He hosted a large party where Misty told him she was terminally ill, shattering his perception of her. As Misty succumbed to cancer, Patch cared for her and their grieving daughter. Misty's mother questioned Patch's commitment to staying for the child after Misty's death.
Patch learned he had been granted sole custody of Charlotte in Misty's will. Charlotte arrived at the house with a suitcase, coldly assessing her meticulously prepared room and rejecting it. Patch struggled to care for Charlotte, who rejected his attempts at food and stories. After Misty's death, Charlotte gradually engaged with Patch through shared reading, outdoor chores, and art. Patch found an old letter, impulsively pulled Charlotte from school, and drove five hundred miles seeking answers about a missing girl. Saint questioned his motives, linking his actions to a need for absolution and survivor's guilt. Patch secured a motel room with Charlotte, reflected on life's beauty and harsh realities, and decided to discard the address, embracing his commitment to Charlotte but acknowledging the loss of Grace.
The Break
By 1995, a year after saying goodbye to Grace, Patch focused on Charlotte. They shared football, movie nights, and grappled with a tragic bombing. After a decade, Patch resumed painting portraits of missing girls. Charlotte meticulously created a map detailing missing and deceased girls. Saint listened to old interview tapes featuring Patch recounting Grace's words, which contained cryptic clues about locations and potential victims. Patch struggled with fame at his gallery opening in New York. Charlotte later revealed a newspaper article confirming his success. Saint drove along a highway, feeling anxious, and arrived at a church, her destination for an unknown purpose.
The Prisoner
By 1998, Patch, an inmate in an old prison, observed the outside world from his cell. He worked in the prison library, managing books and helping fellow inmates. After 513 days, he was escorted to meet the warden to discuss a library service for Death Row. Patch was captivated by a painting in the warden's office—his own work from nearly twenty years prior. Despite enduring prison hardships, Patch passionately argued for the right to read, and the warden agreed. Saint struggled to support Charlotte, who was withdrawn and angry. Saint hosted monthly dinners and continued her investigation.
Patch delivered books to prison cells, reflecting on prison life and past traumas, before confronting a specific prisoner who had been incarcerated for nineteen years. In prison, Patch confronted the doctor about Grace's disappearance, revealing the doctor had previously claimed she was dead. The doctor, facing execution, broke down in tears.
Myths and Legends
By 2001, the decades-long investigation brought closure to families. Sammy revealed he bought property using a loan against a painting and gave it back to the doctor, honoring their shared past. Saint drove to meet her son Theodore, whom she had given up for adoption, leaving him mementos and a financial gift. At Charlotte's art showing, Saint reflected on past traumas. Later, Charlotte discovered a mysterious jar of glowing purple honey. Saint and Charlotte embarked on a thousand-mile road trip, reconciling emotionally. They eventually learned that certain bumper stickers referred to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. They traveled there, hoping for a reunion. After days of disappointment, a sailboat with a skull and crossbones flag arrived, and Patch reunited with Charlotte at the water's edge, fulfilling their journey's purpose.