The novella begins with an excerpt from Towles’s novel Rules of Civility, in which Mr. Ross calls Katherine to discuss Eve. Eve’s relationship with Tinker has ended, and she has boarded a train in New York City. However, Eve elects to extend her ticket to go to Los Angeles. Mr. Ross notes that Eve can be identified by her scar.

Charlie sits in the dining car on a train headed to Los Angeles next to Evelyn “Eve” Ross, who has a scar across her face. Charlie, a former police officer, has seen many scars, but always on men. Charlie needs to take care of his deceased wife Betty’s things and is considering moving in with his son, Tommy. Eve asks to extend her ticket to Los Angeles. A couple of women sit nearby and gossip about neighbors in their hometown, repeating the phrase, “It just shows to go you” (241). The women remind Charlie of his daughter-in-law, Caroline, who rigidly adheres to social norms. One of the women asks Eve about her book, and Eve mockingly replies, with a Southern accent, that the book is boring because it does not have enough sex, noting that it also confuses the effects of the strong anesthetic Rohypnol and gunshots.