In the hospital, Maia Atkin follows registrar Mr. Davies to flag concerns about a patient with placental abruption. She notes the partner’s controlling behavior and signs consistent with substance use (dried blood in nostrils, watery eyes, dilated pupils, irritability). Mr. Davies, pressed for time, authorizes urine testing and delaying discharge, and calls it a good observation, which Maia experiences as significant validation.

On a brief break, Maia climbs out to a small roof area and meets fellow house officer Kate. Kate, warm and flirtatious, invites Maia for a drink after shifts. Maia, who is not fully out, is buoyed yet anxious that her light banter may misrepresent her more serious nature and that her closeted status could be an obstacle.

The narrative shifts to the past: Cora and Gordon drive through the Cotswolds to an annual couples’ gathering. Gordon gifts Cora a CD of Grieg’s Peer Gynt, letting her play “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” which evokes Cora’s yearning for dance and an ordinary, loving marriage. At the hotel, the wives warmly include Cora, treating her as a rare guest, while admiring Gordon’s “ideal husband” image.

On a group walk toward Broadway Tower, Gordon charms the women and is praised. When Cora lags behind, Gordon sprints to her; Cora braces for impact but he lifts and spins her playfully, creating a photo-perfect moment that reassures the group and momentarily relieves Cora. She remains vigilant in the tower to avoid being alone with the men.

Before dinner, in their room, Gordon praises then polices Cora’s eating, invoking her father’s fatal heart attack to shame her. He places his hands around her belly suggestively and says “Bonne Maman,” using the jam brand to press the idea of pregnancy. After Dorie drops off a book, they go to dinner with friends where personality typing is discussed; Gordon cites Myers–Briggs to appear reasonable and collegial.

At the table, Cora serves herself lightly, still stung by his earlier comment, but Gordon publicly piles food onto her plate. When Cora lightly touches his wrist to stop him, he exaggerates a reaction that knocks a glass, staging a scene where he then “rescues” her reputation with a patronizing line. The group smooths over the discomfort, but the damage and Cora’s humiliation are clear.

The final section moves to teenage Gordon at home while his parents are away. Anticipating a party where Lily will be, he drinks his father’s Gordon’s Gin, meets Lily, and shares the bottle en route. At the party, he briefly feels accepted by other boys. Outside in the dark, he and Lily kiss; when Gordon tries to escalate, Lily resists. He ignores her attempts to stop, forcibly keeps kissing, and inserts his fingers under her underwear until he finally relents. Lily runs off, telling him never to come near her again.

Returning inside, Gordon masks the assault by calling Lily a “slag” and claiming she “stinks,” eliciting laughter and rough camaraderie from the boys. He secures his place among them through lies and misogyny, revealing the early pattern of coercion and image management that echoes his adult behavior.