A man named Eddie Gordon is passed out on a couch, drunk. His wife, Sally enters. She feels motherly affection for her husband and repositions him on the couch so that he is more comfortable. Eddie is an alcoholic, and he drinks constantly. While Eddie is still passed out, a man named Allen knocks on the door, and Sally lets him in. Allen is Eddie's best friend. Allen asks Sally to leave Eddie and come with him, as he loves her. He says that it would be best for her, and asks why she married Eddie since she loved him first. Sally reveals that she pitied Eddie and wanted to mother something, so she did not wait for Allen. Now, Eddie no longer wants to be coddled or helped. Allen says that he will come back in a week, and asks Sally to make her decision by then.
When Allen leaves, Sally sees Eddie, and he reveals that he was awake for most of the conversation. Eddie says Sally should leave him, and that he will be glad when he is dead. Eddie says that the next week, Sally must go with Allen. Sally asks Eddie to come to dinner with her, but he refuses, and she says she will be back in an hour. Now alone, Eddie sees Sally's handkerchief and throws it. He decides that Sally would be doing the right thing by leaving him. Then, he writes two letters, one titled "For My Wife" and one "For the Police." He goes into the bedroom and takes a revolver out of the drawer. Then, he gets scared and puts the revolver back down, returning to the living room. There, Eddie sees a bottle of whiskey that is still 1/3 full. He drinks some to give himself courage, then continues to drink more. He begins to ramble, asking "did you think I was asleep?" repeatedly, slurring his words. 
Eddie leans against the table and throws Sally's handkerchief again. He stares at the revolver, then picks it up. He asks, towards the direction of the door, if Allen really thought he could steal his wife. He leans against the door, asking if Allen thought he would shoot himself. He then becomes angry, and says "I'll shoot you." He tells the door that he knows where to find Allen. Then, he walks towards the door and shoves the revolver into his pocket. The gun catches on his coat and goes off. Eddie stares for a second at the door, then lies down, first with his head in his hands and then on his back. His hand knocks against the floor, and his face looks like he at last discovered something real.