Nicholas and Louise have been married only a short while, but he is still unsure of her affections and unsettled by her indifference. After coming home from World War II, he is certain that she only married him for the bravery he showed there. Conscious of this fact, he tries to shield her from the crowd as they stand gathered with hundreds of people to witness a performer called 'The Human Fly' make a death-defying climb up the Boulanger building. Slowly and steadily, the Fly is able to make the climb. Everyone else is focused on him, but Nicholas looks at Louise and contemplates their marriage. He feels intense passion for her but realizes that it is rarely reciprocated and consequently ends up hating himself for hoping. Nicholas projects his emotions onto the Fly, dreaming up a life for the man where he only risks his life on a climb like this to gain the attention of his wife. Bitterly, he watches the Fly greet his wife at the top of the building, who sets up a table and a rocking chair. The Fly balances on the rocking chair and the wife holds the table steady for her husband. Then, tragedy strikes as the wife loses focus for just a minute and the Fly hurtles down to his death with a sickening noise. Nicholas flinches, remembering the sound of death from his time at war, and goes to shield Louise from the sight. However, she pushes him away and cranes her neck to stare at the dead man, just like everyone else in the crowd who is grotesquely fascinated by death. Nicholas suddenly feels revulsion for his wife and scrambles to get away from her as quickly as he can.