Although everything appears normal at first, Richard's voice begins to crack, his fingernails grow long and the hairs on his arms recede into his skin. He then feels a strange sensation in his groin area and watches in horror as his manhood disappears. Then, his head hair grows long and he starts to develop breasts. Embarrassed, Richard flees back to the lab, where the final stages of the transformation into a woman take place. The new female alter-ego (Sean Young) names herself Helen Hyde and introduces herself as Richard's new assistant. She rewrites his reports, is kind to his secretary, flirts with his superiors, Yves Dubois (Harvey Fierstein) and Oliver Mintz (Stephen Tobolowsky) and rewards herself with a shopping spree. Later, Helen meets and befriends Richard's fiancée, Sarah (Lysette Anthony), and convinces her to move out of his apartment just so she can have it for herself.