Magda Virag, a widowed New Yorker, suspects that her tenant, Mr. Han, is building a bomb.  First, she finds a package of chemicals addressed to him; then, he starts hosting guests who argue in "a foreign language"; finally, he receives packages from China, plus there are metal scraps in the hallway and the smell of solder.  Recently, naturally-caused manhole-cover explosions have wracked the neighborhood and nearly killed passerby. Mrs. Virag wishes that Laszlo, her late husband, could assure her everything is fine.  To take her mind off Mr. Han, she goes shopping. There, she bumps into a longtime acquaintance, Chirlane, whose husband recently became the mayor. She thinks about how Laszlo, in comparison, is dead.  Mr. Han has a dark past: three years ago, his baby died at daycare. Mrs. Virag suspects this loss broke Mr. Han irreparably in some way; although he's been a model tenant so far, perhaps he harbors deep resentment that would've driven him to build a bomb.  Mrs. Virag's suspicion compels her to break into Mr. Han's apartment. Finding nothing, she decides to check the bedroom. Just then, a great explosion shakes the air—but it's not a bomb, it's a manhole eruption outside. She feels relieved to be alive and heartbroken at the fact that she cannot share this news with Laszlo.  Mrs. Virag imagines Mr. Han hid the bomb in his bedroom, planning to destroy the mayor's house across the street. When she finally confronts him, she learns that his purchases were used to simply repair his bicycle. She suddenly becomes frustrated at him for not exacting revenge on the unfair universe that took away his baby and her husband. She leaves Mr. Han's apartment and paces down the street, fantasizing that her house, the mayor's house, and the entire neighborhood have been decimated by a bomb.