The chapter is a first-person account narrated by Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady of the United States in 1936.
Eleanor visits her friend Mrs. Bethune, a woman of color, at her house in Washington, D.C.
Eleanor is accompanied by her guard, Earl. She's been receiving threats for her involvement with the black community and hence, additional security precautions are taken.
Eleanor reveals that Louis, presumably a close friend or advisor to her and Franklin (the president) is ill and unlikely to recover. This news deeply upsets her.
Eleanor and Mrs. Bethune discuss a variety of topics including Franklin's upcoming campaign and their mutual distrust of a man named Steve Woodburn.
Eleanor suggests that she is contemplating organizing a women's division for Franklin's campaign, and wants Mrs. Bethune to help, especially in strategizing for the African American vote.
A group of white people start protesting outside Mrs. Bethune’s house, upset at the sight of a black woman and a white woman eating together.
Rather than being intimidated, Eleanor proposes to use the situation to normalize interracial dining. She suggests taking a photograph of herself and Mrs. Bethune dining together and sharing it with her network of female journalists.