Ten years after Yao’s run in with Masha, we meet Frances, a formerly best-selling romantic novelist in her fifties from Sydney.
Frances is making the six-hour drive to Tranquillum House where she’s booked an exclusive “10-Day Mind and Body Total Transformation Retreat.”
See, Frances has been feeling a little down since her boyfriend, Paul Drabble, disappeared two weeks ago.
During the drive, Frances thinks about her career as an author—she’s written 19 books. Pretty darn impressive. But she’s been in a bit of a sales slump lately.
She also reminiscences about her two ex-husbands and numerous old boyfriends.
It’s actually a fairly depressing car ride. Maybe that’s why she pulls over by the side of the road and starts to cry.
After a moment, a large, unpleasant looking man stops to see if she’s all right. Frances worries he might be a serial killer. Uh-oh.
Nope. The guy is just concerned that Frances is okay to drive what with all the crying. So she tells him she’s just having a hot flash. Menopause is a real pain. Ladies, you'll find out when you’re older.