In this chapter, we are introduced to the wife of the manager of a large department store. She is the mistress of the man's subordinate, the assistant manager of the store where she works. She has been cheating on her husband for many years, and he has been trying to keep her away from him. She wakes up in the middle of the night and tells him that the manager at the department store in her area has been admitted to the hospital because of his illness. The assistant manager has been working at the store while the manager is in the hospital, and the two of them discuss the possibility of moving the manager back to the store in question. The conversation is interrupted by the arrival of the new assistant manager, who is thrust into the position vacated by the departing manager.