Two friends, Smith and Braling, walk home together after their first night out in years. Smith wishes they could stay out longer. He wonders if Braling put sleeping powder in his wife’s coffee for her to allow it in the first place, but Braling says that would be unethical.

Their conversation reveals that Braling’s wife had forced him into the marriage by threatening him with a rape accusation in 1979, 10 years before. Braling had always dreamed of going to Rio, but his wife’s controlling nature would not allow it. Meanwhile, Smith is married to a woman who “overdoes it.” She is overbearing physically and emotionally and might be a bit “simple-minded” (212).

At Braling’s home, he shares his secret with Smith: In the bedroom window stands an exact replica of Braling, down to his mustache and “grieved eyes” (213). Braling introduces Smith as Braling Two, an exact robotic replica created by Marionettes, Inc. Braling keeps Braling Two locked in the cellar and takes him out when he wants to escape the watchful eye of his wife. He will finally take that trip to Rio: “It may be splitting hairs,” he tells Smith, “but I think it is highly ethical. After all, what my wife wants most of all is me.