 On a hot day in a highway gas station men s room, a man Michel doesn t recognize says they went to school together. He s Harry. He suggests they have a drink, so he and his girlfriend follow Michel and his family to their summer place. Michel is amazed when Harry quotes from memory a poem Michel wrote in school. Harry thinks Michel is a great writer, and he s distressed that Michel hasn t written in years. Harry stays awhile (since his father s death, he s a man of leisure) and sets out to eliminate distractions that might keep Michel from writing. First he buys Michel a car (with air conditioning) and then suspicious things happen. Michel picks up a pen, Harry is gratified, but he s not finished being Michel s self-appointed patron.