The play opens in the wake of an almost violent screaming match between Loureen, a housewife, and her abusive husband Samuel. When Samuel raises his hand to hit her, Loureen yells back at him; suddenly, there is a bright flash, and Samuel is gone. All that rests in his place is a pile of ash, his eyeglasses resting on top of it. Astonished, Loureen examines the pile of ash, and then calls Florence, her friend and neighbor upstairs, another housewife in a bad marriage.
Florence comes down right away asking what's wrong. She sees the pile of ash and when Loureen says that it's Samuel, Florence asks if he finally drove her crazy. Loureen tells her to call 911, so Florence dials. As the phone is ringing, Loureen says that she thinks she killed him, and Florence immediately hangs up. Florence asks Loureen to repeat herself, and then refuses to believe it's true—she's not going to be part of Loureen's game. Loureen doesn't know how or why it happened. This lack of explanation irritates Florence, who wants a concrete answer. Florence points out that she's heard Loureen joke about killing Samuel and she's never done it, so why would it all of a sudden be different now.
Loureen says she will be made the "patron saint of battered wives" (4), that women everywhere will come to her to get rid of their husbands. Florence tells her to come upstairs, to speak her words to her husband Edgar, but Loureen tells her she can't do that. Florence is happy for her friend, relieved that she is free of Samuel, but she is worried for herself. She tells Loureen that she broke their pact, that they were meant to leave together. Now, Florence fears she will never be able to get out of her marriage. She has her kids to think about, and the idea of standing up to Edgar on her own is too much for her to stomach.
Loureen wonders if she should call the police to report Samuel's disappearance, but Florence tells her not to, or at least to wait. For one thing, Loureen will go to jail if they suspect she killed him, and Florence doesn't beat around the bush with that fact. Furthermore, Florence says, what is she going to do? Remind them of the many times they ignored her requests for intervention when her husband was being violent and Loureen was unsafe?
Loureen expresses that she feels no regret or remorse, only joy. She feels like a large weight has been lifted off her shoulders, and she tells Florence it's not too late for her to get out of her marriage, too. Florence goes home, says she'll come back for cards tomorrow. Alone in the house, Loureen contemplates what to do with the pile of ash—she had considered sending it to Samuel's mother, or preserving it in some other way—but instead she just sweeps it under the rug, and sits down for dinner.
