Amanda needs an apartment. After sleeping on a friend's floor for a week, she calls a number she finds in the paper and heads right over. Faith, who immediately strikes her as beautiful, and Carla meet her at the door of the apartment. They make small talk and Amanda does her best to perform for them. The conversation goes well. When Carla catches Amanda glancing at their piano, she mentions that she was "supposed" to be a concert pianist, and has played since the age of five. Later that night, Faith leaves Amanda a message. The room is hers if she wants it. Faith, Amanda thinks after moving in, makes their lives much easier by dint of her beauty. For example, the landlord sends his son right over when she reports a rodent problem. Later, the three debate how to control them in the bathroom. Faith wants to use poison, Amanda disapproves, and Carla advocates traps as a compromise. The conversation turns to men, and Billy, Amanda's boyfriend comes up. He has not, as Amanda has told them, gone to Europe alone—they've broken up, and she worries that her roommates will find out. Faith recommends she go out with Clark, a lawyer who lives below them, and although she refuses, they decide to invite him for dinner soon. Clark's apartment tour reveals the women's distinct personalities: Faith's room is draped in necklaces and scarves, Carla's is spartan, and Amanda's is chaotic. Over dinner, she obliquely tells them the truth. She's broken a man's arm—Billy's when he cheated on her, but she doesn't tell them this. Afterward, Carla plays the piano in a strange state of quiet pain, and a mousetrap slaps shut in the cupboard.