Roark has been working in the granite quarry for three months. He occupies his time fighting against the granite; here he is able to detach himself from the pain, and even laughs at it.
Dominique has spent the summer in her father's house in Connecticut by the quarry, completely isolated. She enjoys the solitude, as opposed to the loneliness she feels when she surrounds herself with people. One day she decides to visit the quarry, the thought of seeing the men working with granite both revolting and exciting. The first man she sees working is Roark, and she doesn't know who he is. She suddenly feels like she has been hit; his face, to her, is both beautiful and spiteful.
He stares at her, and she stares back. She comes to the quarry several times to see him, but says nothing. The thought of him makes her weak with pleasure and boiling with hatred. One day, Dominique runs into Roark on the path and asks him why he always stares at her. He responds that she stares at him as well. She asks him what it is like to work in the quarry, and he responds with what she wants to hear - he is always tired at the end of the day. She leaves.
