Mr. and Mrs. Garland are Londoners riding through the British countryside, simmering with their displeasure with one another and their relationship, when Mr. Garland notices an advertisement for good quality "slow glass." Against Mrs. Garland's wishes, they follow the signs and arrive on a farm where an older man called Hagan and his seemingly unresponsive wife live. Slow glass is a framed sort of mirror that can absorb images and reflect them to appear like a window. People use them to give their homes the appearance of being surrounded by beautiful landscapes. Throughout their visit to Hagan's farm, Mrs. Garland constantly nips and jabs at Mr. Garland, whose internal monologue expresses both love and intense hatred for her. When they eventually close the sale for the "slow glass", it suddenly begins to rain. At this point, Hagan goes inside to get something and leaves the couple outside. While Mr. Garland gets a better look at Hagan's house from beneath the eaves, Mrs. Garland notices Hagan left a blanket out in the rain, and runs to take it to the door. It is then when they realize that Hagan no longer has a wife; the woman they saw was a projection of the slow glass. His home is in shambles in reality. They are shaken and saddened by his reality. As they are preparing to leave with their slow glass, Hagan follows them to their car and tells them, in an attempt to save face, "It wasn't my fault... a hit-and-run driver got them both, down on the Oban road six years ago. My boy was only seven when it happened. I'm entitled to keep something." Mr. Garland holds his wife for the first time since the story began, and treasures the feeling.