In which the devoted and slow-spoken John Crumb faces the bitter anguish of lost love and a violent confrontation in the shadowed streets of London, while Mrs. Pipkin and Mrs. Hurtle bear witness to the trials and tribulations of the young Ruby Ruggles. The night unfolds with an unfortunate mêlée involving her aristocratic suitor, the arrival of the police, and a delicate interplay of emotions that reveal the tender yet troubled attachments binding these characters together.