On January 24, 1949, Harry Kennedy wakes up panicking about waking up late. He realizes it is only 8:17AM and lies back down. He notes that he will need indignation and rage to get him through the day. His wife, Martha, wakes up next to him with an innocent face, but Harry sees mockery in her eyes. He asks Martha if she is hungry to which she responds with a yes. Harry gets up to look outside when she asks about his gruffness. He tells her not to talk about “it.” They get dressed and walk out of their suite. Walking past the lobby, the couple enters the dining room. His wife orders her breakfast, but Harry gets lost in a memory about Martha collapsing as a witness during a past trial. The couple takes a walk after a difficult breakfast, and Martha speaks cheerily about how happy she is that her father brought Harry to work at their law firm. They sit at the base of a pine tree at the top of a hill. Harry keeps thinking about the trial that occurred because his wife was sexually assaulted by a Black man. The entire incident disturbs him but Martha tries to cheerily remove herself from the past. They continue arguing while Martha says that they were able to save their reputation and that the man was “only a n----er,” and hysterically yells at him not to do anything about this case. Shaking and wanting to act upon the injustice, Harry runs away to get to the phone and begs to speak to the governor, but with little success.