The story begins in a Florida hotel room, where newlyweds Seymour and Muriel Glass are staying for their vacation. During the first half of the story, however, Seymour is lying on the beach while his wife talks on the telephone to her mother in New York. Muriel's mother repeatedly asks Muriel if she is "all right," which begins to irritate Muriel; her mother's concern arises from a past incident where Seymour apparently tried to kill himself (and possibly others) by driving his father-in-law's car into a tree. When Muriel tells her that Seymour drove to Florida, her mother is naturally anxious; but Muriel says that Seymour "drove very nicely" and avoided any "funny business." This does not, however, placate her mother, who asks more questions about Seymour's behavior. Muriel says that Seymour has dubbed her "Miss Spiritual Tramp of 1948," and she tells her mother of Seymour's...