Each part in this novel contains multiple chapters with alternating narrators: Nick Dunne narrates current events; then Amy Elliott Dunne speaks in Part One through her diary, narrating past events, including her meeting and marrying Nick Dunne.

Nick’s chapters are in the past tense, told by him in the first person. Amy’s chapters are in the present tense, and written in first person in her diary. Her diary begins in 2005 when she meets Nick. 

Nick Dunne reminisces about his wife Amy and their marriage, narrating events after they have occurred. He wakes up at 6 a.m. on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary. He hears his wife making breakfast downstairs. He reports that he has made a decision and implies that his wife won’t like it. He is nervous as he stands in the doorway watching her. He remarks that Amy is often angry with him, and she resents having had to move to his hometown after both of them lost their jobs and his mother fell ill with cancer. They met and married while living in Amy’s hometown, New York City.

Nick arrives very late at work. He and his twin sister, Go, own a bar, cleverly called The Bar.