Chapter 5 Summary

Kathleen Solson, the editor-in-chief at the paper, has recently begun to suspect that her husband, Nigel, is having an affair. Nigel was a lawyer in Washington, but has become something of a househusband since moving to Rome with Kathleen. Kathleen enjoys this arrangement, therefore she does not want a divorce. However, it crosses her mind that this might give her the right to have an affair of her own.

At a newspaper conference in Rome, Kathleen runs into Dario de Monterecchi. Kathleen and Dario lived together for six years when Kathleen previously worked as a reporter at the paper. That was ten years ago. Dario calls a few days later and invites Kathleen out for drinks. Over drinks, Dario tells Kathleen that one of her copyeditors, Ruby, whom Kathleen and Dario were interns together with years ago, has been calling Dario incessantly since...