On the cruise ship to Antarctica, Maud guesses the average passenger age is around 60. To help with Peter's post-retirement restlessness, Maud pitched the idea of the trip to her husband after reading about it in their college alumni magazine. The boat, the Caledonia Star, has become a temporary home for the two.

During a cocktail party in the ship saloon, Peter strikes up a conversation with a widowed woman. Maud is used to Peter attracting and engaging with other women, but he always claims she's simply misreading him. A few nights later Maud and Peter share dinner with another couple, Janet and Philip. Again, Peter heavily leans into the conversation with Janet, even patting her forearm on the table.

When it comes time for an on-land excursion, Maud decides to hang back on the ship. She watches as all of the other passengers descend onto the ice in their giant red parkas. She tries to pick out which parka belongs to Peter... and which parka belongs to Janet. When Peter gets back on the ship, he tells Maud she didn't miss much, except that Janet bought postcards. Mockingly, Maud refers to Janet as "lovely Janet," and Peter freaks out, leaving Maud behind. Twenty years ago marks the first time Maud accused Peter of cheating, and it ended in violence and Peter leaving Maud for three days. They never discussed where he went during that time.

One night, Maud wakes up to find Peter missing from his bunk. She runs through the corridor, to the deck, and into the bridge house to inform the captain that her husband is missing. However, the crew is too distracted by the prospect of hitting a massive iceberg to help her, so Maud heads back to her room. There, she finds Peter, and he asks where she was. He says he was on the deck too, so they must've just missed each other. Maud doesn't reply.