Elise Lynch, a twenty-eight year-old living in San Francisco with her German shepherd Rob, has been able to get by on her good looks. She lives a carefree life, financially supported by a married man named Richard. Before him, Elise had been with another wealthy man named Wimberley until he passed away from cancer. As she's gotten older, Elise has begun drinking more, which she doesn't think it is too much of a problem, even though she is prone to the spins. Richard wants a discreet relationship but is happy to spoil Elise. he gets her a car and an apartment in the city. Living in the same building is Elise's friend Toni, a thrice-divorced woman known for throwing good parties. Elise went to one of her parties, hooking up afterwards with a Stanford student named Sri, who was enraptured by her beauty. When Richard finds out that Elise attended Toni's party, he is upset. He tries to have a serious conversation with Elise, but she keeps cracking jokes. Richard believes that Elise should not associate with people like Toni. He also condemns her drinking, thinking she will ruin her health and beauty, especially now that she's almost thirty. But for Elise, she wouldn't be able to hook up with people like Richard if not for alcohol. She also suffers from insomnia and possibly depression. Elise says that she and Richard should go out to eat, which they rarely do on account of Richard's wife. Richard agrees and lightens up. But during dinner, Elise gets vertigo and runs off to the bathroom. She's gone for a long time. When she gets back, Richard accuses her of going off to get a drink, which she admits to, but she had thrown it up afterwards due to an upset stomach. They return to Elise's apartment. Elise can tell Richard isn't very happy because he hits Rob with his knee. Richard and Elise make love, leaving her bloody. After Richard leaves, Elise decides to take Rob out with her. She drives out to a remote location and lets Rob run around while she runs a hose from the exhaust pipe to the car's window. Then she gets in the car with Rob and tries to relax.