Martin Harris is a construction engineer. He and his wife, Mary, have been separated for four months. She’s having an affair with Joris Deglen, a married Frenchman who she met in her glamorous social circle. When Martin suffers a fall at work, he and Mary meet for the first time since their separation. She comes to see him daily in his hotel recovery suite. During one of Mary’s visits, Martin inquires about her evening plans. He knows her love-tinged sympathy will soon run out, and he wants to rekindle their connection while he’s still in her good graces. She relays that she’s going out with Joris and his wife, Marianne. Martin, knowing he asked a question he didn’t want to know the answer to, fumes at the idea of Joris and Mary together. When she leaves at dusk, he is plagued by thoughts of them. He thinks he could stand it if he was there to witness their affection, but the distance—the not knowing—makes it that much harder to bear. He calls Mary’s apartment, but she doesn’t answer. Each of his subsequent calls—one every quarter-hour—goes unanswered. With some help from a bellboy, Martin gets dressed. He trips over an uneven floorboard and bumps his head as he falls. He thinks nothing of it and limps to Mary’s apartment in the dark. Meanwhile, Joris calls Mary. Marianne has turned in for the night, so he’s on his way over. Just then, the doorbell chimes. Martin is slumped over on Mary’s doorstep. He is incoherent, and his head is bleeding profusely. Mary calls an ambulance, and the medics whisk him away to the hospital. When Joris arrives, she tearfully laments that Martin will never let her go.