Neely, 1950 Summary

Neely O'Hara lies in her bed, drinking Scotch and taking sleeping pills, feeling sorry for herself after missing her twin sons' first birthday. Neely is unhappily married to Ted Casablanca; she once found him kissing another man and swallowed an entire bottle of pills (her stomach was pumped).

Jennifer North appears nude in French art-house films that are popular in the United States, too. Anne Welles is about to do television commercials for Gillian Cosmetics, and rumors say she is dating Kevin Gillmore, the company founder. Television is making a stir in the film industry, and Neely considers herself fortunate to have a five-year contract when less famous stars are being cut loose by the movie studios.

When the pills do not put Neely to sleep, she gets out of bed for another bottle of Scotch. She sees Ted naked in the swimming...