Barbara and Henry are giving a party for their friends, former petition-signers and activists. Their closest buddy, "Jack", was perhaps the most militant member of the group, and he remains the least reconciled and the most nostalgic.
Stan, Barbara's ex-husband (and, like her, a Polish immigrant) circulates among the guests with a tray in his hand, maintaining a studied, neutral air.
Jack is immediately affected by an impatient phrase from Henry, who says : "Sure, Stan is my wife's former husband, sure he's Polish, as goy as you can get, sure he's a writer Q but mostly he's one of those international pains in the ass !..."