Play in fourteen tableaux
Principal characters, He and She, are an unsuccessful dramatist and an actress. The couple are nearly penniless, and She is forced to take a job in a touring company. It is soon clear that her salary cannot provide for both. He wishes to return to Paris to find work, but She persuades him to stay with the touring company and adds to his feeling of uselessness by engaging in prostitution for needed funds. Although they tell each other that they wish only to be together and to love each other, it becomes apparent that their mutual degradation is a strong force in their attachment. Realising that he has failed in life, He finally murders She and commits suicide, for He believes that to possess her would defile her.