Noelle is visiting her friend Jennifer and Jennifer's adolescent son, Damian, in Italy. Damian has just been kicked out of his progressive college because he and some friends, as a "joke", drew swastikas and other bigoted language around the dorms and the study lounge. Noelle takes extra offense at this story because her husband is Black; the two of them teach gymnastics to children in city shelters. Noelle calls her husband and flirts with him, but at the same time, she hopes Damian is not listening in. Damian's stepfather--Jennifer's new husband--is set to arrive in Italy soon. Jennifer and Noelle go on a walk throughout the town and reflect on the beauty of the architecture. Jennifer shares that Damian wants to stay here forever instead of going back to school; she also insists that he is not really a racist and does not mean what he wrote. Damian wants his girlfriend to come live with them in Italy. However, Noelle is not sure if his stepfather is willing to pay for the girl. Jennifer is excited at the thought of Damian staying despite his terrible attitude and behavior. The women go to a local cafe and see a massive group of high schoolers behaving rowdily and happily together. To Jennifer's surprise, Damian is with them and he greets her. He acts with extreme sophistication. The women return home and go to bed, only to hear Damian arrive in the middle of the night, drunk and on a motorcycle. Jennifer is distraught because he is an extremely dangerous driver. Damian tries to convince Noelle to tell Jennifer that it is safe; he talks to her in a manner that is part flirtatious, part mocking, and entirely infuriating. Noelle calls her husband again and is too ashamed to admit that both she and Jennifer are afraid of Damian. One day, Damian is driving an Italian girl around and the bike careens into a ditch and pins her foot. She breaks her foot and no longer spends time with Damian. Eventually, Damian's friends stop coming around because he is so quiet. He agrees to go back to his old school. The situation leads Noelle to recall the old craziness of her youth, including some casual drug use.