A man living in France writes a letter to his distant friend telling him about his new wife and the demise of their marriage. The man had met the woman several times before, but it wasn't until she made him laugh one night while walking home and he kissed the top of her head that he fell in love with her. She is younger than him and is charmed by his poetry. At this point, the man is planning on following his friend to America, and the young woman says she has an uncle there. They write to the uncle, but do not get a response. They then begin the process of applying for visas. Later, on a train, the woman begins weeping over a dog she says they left behind. The man finds this strange because they do not have a dog, but her grief seems so real that he accepts it. She then confesses to him that she cheated on him with a man she met on a train. He is sent into shock and grief over the news that his wife has been unfaithful. He cries in front of her and she tells him that she was not the one who committed adultery, and that she must be living many lives at once. Back at home, he finally receives their visas. He goes to bring them to his wife and finds her to be missing, her possessions gone, and only a rose left behind on the table. He goes to the neighbors trying to figure out where she might have gone, but no one will tell him anything. Finally, an old lady named Anna curses at him, condemning his actions, but revealing to him where his wife has gone. Anna tells him he should be ashamed of himself for the many awful things he has done that his wife has told her about, including killing a dog. Even though these are all false accusations his wife has spread about him, he accepts the woman's criticisms and she tells him that his wife has gone to Nice to be with a lover she has never seen in person, only in pictures. He realizes then that the woman he thought to be his wife was an illusion and that trying to find her and restore their marriage is pointless. He sets out for America on a boat alone. One day he is speaking with a crew member who has seen his wife on board and tells him she had mentioned the fact that her husband would be joining her with luggage soon. He does not try to find her and once he makes it to America finds no closure. He sits in Central Park writing the letter to his friend recounting the illusory marriage, hoping the friend can use his artistic skills to make meaning out of the muddled narrative of the tumultuous romance.