On an icy Friday night, Maureen—an English teacher at Saint Ignatius High School—heads home early, leaving her friends at the bar. As she walks toward her car alone, she passes by a popular nightclub; she sees the crowd's faces, hoping to spot her daughter, Grace, who has been estranged for almost two years. Grace had dropped out of college to move in with another English teacher at Saint Ignatius, with whom she'd been having an affair since her senior year. Maureen could not accept Grace's decision, fracturing their relationship.

Maureen arrives at the parking lot, where a man sneaks up behind her and orders that she hand over her keys—he has been waiting for her. He tells her to get into the driver's seat; he gets in the passenger seat and forces her to drive up to a deserted area. The man explains that he doesn't want money or sex. Instead, he reveals that he is the father of Hassan, a student in Maureen's class whom she had caught cheating and plans to report. Hassan's father, an immigrant with "some sort of accent," wants his son to become a doctor. He had been a doctor in his native country but could not find a position in the United States. Maureen derisively says that Hassan is too lazy and dishonest to get into medical school. She then mocks Hassan's father's plan: though unarmed, he is going to threaten her. Maureen takes his hands and puts them on her neck, goading him to strangle her; he pulls away. She affirms that she will still report Hassan and that he will probably be expelled, but that it's for his own good. Maureen asks Hassan's father what his wife thinks of his scheme; he responds that his wife is dead.

Maureen drives back to the parking lot. She asks the man how he would make her keep her word, even if she did agree to his demands. He pulls out a Bible he bought from Goodwill: she would have sworn on it. Hassan's father leaves, letting Maureen keep the Bible. She reads the book's inscription (it had belonged to a girl named Clara) and wonders where its former owner is now.