At the start of the play Sam and Willie are practising ballroom steps in preparation for a major competition, while maintaining the tea shop. Business is slow due to the rain. Sam is quickly revealed as being the more worldly of the two. When Willie, in broken English, describes his ballroom partner and girlfriend as lacking enthusiasm, Sam correctly diagnoses the problem: Willie beats her if she doesn't know the steps. Willie, in turn, claims he has no romantic feelings left for her, as he suspects she's cheating on him regularly, and that their baby child, for whom he's paying child support, isn't really his.