The protagonist, Sam, is warned by her husband, Simon, not to be late for important meetings at work with Head Office attending.
Sam discovers the car won’t start and asks her daughter, Cat, for help locating her husband, Phil, who is unhelpfully fixing a van and advises Sam to take a cab to work.
Feeling estranged from Phil and Cat, who have become cold toward her, Sam takes a cab while managing a critical call from her demanding mother.
Her mother asks Sam to help with household tasks like cleaning, looking up socialist hymns, and paperwork for taking in a refugee, which Sam can’t commit to due to work.
Arriving late to her meeting, Sam faces a passive-aggressive reception from Simon, the epitome of her stressful work environment.
At work, Sam is undermined by Simon and struggles through meetings, feeling unnoticed and unvalued by her family and colleagues.
During a work lunch with Miriam Price, Sam is berated on the phone by Simon about a last-minute job change, causing her distress in front of the client.
Miriam supports Sam, sharing her own experiences and suggesting that Sam might be a good fit for her company, offering her a potential job opportunity.
Sam is left feeling emotionally overwhelmed at both the possibility of a new job and Miriam’s kindness, contrasting with her current stressful life.
Miriam advises Sam to stand up to Simon, symbolically suggesting she wear great shoes and red lipstick to boost her confidence.