Nelson is finishing up a series of photographs for a book called Paris in Black and Brown. He is due to go home in two days, but his publisher wants him to stay a little longer in order to provide photographs for a playwright’s new production. Nelson knows he needs to go home because things are difficult between him and Noelle. In fact, he’s in Paris alone to put space between them. He’s purposely ignored her calls, but she hasn’t tried to call in a few days.

Nelson and Jemima, the junior publicist assigned to him, are having an affair. This isn’t the first time Nelson has cheated on Noelle. He cheats when he travels because he feels unmoored without Noelle. They were together in college, and he went on road trips with Noelle to avoid home during school vacations; that’s when he began taking photographs. After college, they were both ambitious: He worked on his photography, and she worked as a theater director. Noelle gave up her career when they moved to Atlanta; after her miscarriage, she became locked down in her emotions. Nelson feels as though she’s dragging him down to a place he doesn’t want to go. When he finally calls Noelle, it is Lacey May who answers the phone.