In Vienna, engineer Ethan Barris works in a crowded office full of models and blueprints, his methodical drafting matched by the steady ticking of a clock. An assistant announces a visitor, Tara Burgess, who arrives unannounced while Barris pauses his work to welcome her warmly.

Tara explains that her sister, Lainie, is in Dublin with the circus, and that Tara chose to travel alone on impulse. As she wanders Barris's workspace admiring architectural models, Tara turns the conversation toward the circus and points out an oddity: Barris has no copies of the circus plans, despite keeping careful files of everything else. Barris admits he left the circus plans with Marco in London and does not seem alarmed by the omission.

Tara presses Barris to speak plainly, asking why he left London. Barris says he moved for the same reasons Tara and Lainie often travel: growing scrutiny and suspicion, especially after people began noticing changes like his hair no longer thinning after the circus opened. Tara admits it feels easier for those who can disappear into the circus, but she resents having to rely on constant moves and deceptions to avoid attention.

Confessing she senses something is wrong beyond what they understand, Tara says attempts to talk to Chandresh went nowhere and she feels unsettled, as if she cannot tell waking life from dreaming. Barris answers that he has seen enough "impossible" things that he focuses on doing his work well and lets others pursue their own paths.

Seeing Tara's need for answers, Barris retrieves a business card bearing only a name and writes a London address beneath it, saying the person may be the only one who can help if Tara insists on digging deeper, though he may not be forthcoming. Tara accepts the card with uncertainty, thanks him, and later declines dinner before leaving alone. Barris returns to his drafting as the office quiets, pencil scratches and clock ticks resuming their steady rhythm.