Late at night, Martha finds her toddler Nala feverish, dehydrated, and vomiting forcefully in her crib and on the floor. Their dog Baxter starts licking the vomit, which prompts Martha to shout, further upsetting Nala. Martha strips Nala, takes her temperature at 104°F, and attempts to give Calpol, while discovering Nala’s nappy is worryingly dry and that Alistair has the car and the child seat.

Martha repeatedly calls Alistair, but he does not answer. As Nala’s temperature climbs to 105.8°F, Martha searches the garage and finds only a newborn-sized spare seat. She phones her nearby friend Grace, who quickly drives them to the hospital, challenging Martha about Alistair’s behavior and suggesting a tracker, which Martha rejects on principle even as she recognizes how badly Alistair has let her down.

At the hospital, Nala is triaged rapidly and examined. Doctors diagnose norovirus and severe dehydration, and Nala is taken to be put on a drip. Martha sits alone, exhausted and fearful under harsh lights as treatment proceeds.

By the following late morning, Martha returns home with Nala. The shop has been shut and orders canceled, leading to angry customer calls. The accumulation of stress makes Martha realize she cannot continue as things are: she cannot manage the business, the childcare, the household finances that never seem to add up, or Alistair’s unexplained disappearances and unreachable phone.

Martha settles the sleeping Nala into her cot and reflects on how her once-promising shop, Martha’s Garden, went from a dream and potential small empire to a burden. She resolves not to capitulate when Alistair returns, determined to confront the situation rather than be soothed into complacency.

An hour later, Alistair finally comes home, disheveled and smelling as if he slept in his clothes. He claims he was exhausted after work, there were no hotel rooms, and he slept on a staff-room sofa, offering the explanation only after asking to shower and belatedly noticing Martha is home during shop hours. Martha, withholding immediate confrontation, tells him to shower first, maintaining her resolve.