Art Woo, a Chinese American businessman and recent divorcé, books a welfare hotel as he travels for a business convention because the other hotel in the town is booked. He feels unsafe at the hotel and, when he goes to bed at night, unplugs the telephone and keeps it in bed with him in case he should need to use it as a weapon. In the morning, Art takes the handset with him in the elevator, still feeling unsafe. When Art arrives in the lobby, a couple teenagers steal the handset out of his hands. When Art tries to talk them down, the boys throw the telephone handset and hit Art in the head. As Art comes back to consciousness, he misses his wife Lisa. He and Lisa had been trying for a baby for a long time and, after a series of failed attempts and miscarriages, Lisa gave up, though Art still had hope. Her state of grief led to the end of their marriage. When Art opens his eyes, he sees a Black woman taking care of him. She gives him Tylenol for the bump on his head. Her name is Cindy. Art tells Cindy that the hotel is no place for a woman like her, and she responds that "you folk rise up while we set and watch," signaling their racial differences. Art thinks about the woman's comment and how it divides racial minorities. He goes to the convention and sets up his booth. There, he learns that his business nemesis Billy packed his bags, moved to the Valley, and got a new job. Art thinks about how, now that he is not married, he has nothing holding him back. He talks to a man at the convention who offers to call him in the morning about a job opportunity. Excited, Art goes back to his hotel, where he remembers that he does not have a telephone set.