Sylvia celebrates Bloomsday, a day marking the events of Ulysses, while Ernest plans to visit Spain. In the past few years, Shakespeare and Company has become the epicenter of the English-language expatriate community. Meanwhile, Joyce is spending all of Harriet’s money at an alarming rate. Sylvia considers the deteriorating relationships of her friends, including the tension between Ernest and his wife Hadley. Sylvia and Adrienne recently attended a party where many couples were creating overt sexual displays, and it made Sylvia feel as though she were not imaginative enough for Adrienne. Later, Sylvia meets Harriet in person for the first time; Harriet is worried about Joyce’s excess. She notes that Nora has returned to Joyce, and all the women around him seem unable to stay away. The two women talk about Joyce’s newest work-in-progress, which does not have the same level of brilliance reflected in his previous work. After Harriet leaves, Adrienne expresses her frustration with Sylvia for her ongoing loyalty to Joyce.

Sylvia goes to collect her mother from the police station; Eleanor has been caught shoplifting. Eleanor explains that she is losing her own beauty and feels compelled to surround herself with beautiful things.