Zoë Hendricks teaches American history at Hilldale-Versailles college in Illinois. She is the department's only female professor, and while the faculty is easy on her the students leave progressively worse reviews, and cite irrational and somewhat disturbing behavior in class, such as singing musicals and offering her students sips of hot chocolate. Zoë once had passion and sympathy for her students, but lately feels edge to her teaching, and she finds her suburban students lazy and entitled. She has dated only three men in Illinois, two of whom she has startled or offended, and one of whom startled and offended her. She bought herself a ranch house but now is uncertain what to do with it, and she wanders around empty rooms and misplaces her things. Zoë talks to her sister Evan, a food designer, every week. She plans to fly in and visit on Halloween weekend, and apathetically consents to meet a man Evan has in mind for her at their Halloween party. Before she leaves she has an ultrasound to check on an unusual growth in her stomach, and she is reminded of a doctor joke she loves. When she arrives, Evan announces that she and her independently wealthy boyfriend Charlie are getting married. Zoë swallows her story about a famous violinist who got married and killed herself shortly thereafter. At the Halloween party, Zoë is introduced to Earl, the man her sister wanted her to meet. He is dressed as a naked woman. The two flounder through the beginnings of a conversation, and alight on the doctor joke but realize they know two different versions. Zoë ducks out to pluck a stubborn hair off her chin and returns with toilet paper stuck to her face. She tells him the full story of the suicidal violinist, swats at him when he attempts to make a comment about her outfit, implies he might be gay, then jokingly shoves him against the balcony railing. Having successfully driven him off, she smiles to the wind.