Part 1: Act 3, Scene 6 Summary

Joe visits Roy, who has tried unsuccessfully to cover up the severity of his illness.

Joe turns down the job offer, and explains that he has been ill with an ulcer, and that Harper has gone missing. His mother is coming to New York to help him find her.

Roy is very angry. He describes Joe's decision as a "little moral nosebleed." He says that Joe is naïve. Roy is proud of the fact that he once rigged the trial of a mother who was accused of treason. He is a pragmatist: he is prepared to commit crimes on principle. Roy thinks that Joe will suffer from his idealism. He alternates between behaving tenderly towards Joe, and provoking him with insults. Joe leaves.

Roy is in pain. A woman arrives at the door: it is Ethel Rosenberg, the...