Summary

Pages 1 – 10: Alexander Bruno, a professional backgammon player, wakes up in a hotel room in Berlin and notices a distinct blind spot in his vision. It is new, but he has the distinct feeling that he had been carrying it with him before, simply unable to see it. He refers to it as “the blot” (3). He decides not to give it too much thought for the time being. He puts on his tuxedo, picks up his persona; backgammon set, and leaves the hotel room. On the ferry to an appointment, while looking for a dropped cuff link, he meets an attractive woman who is about 50 years old, like Bruno. She says her name is Madchen and that she is taking the ferry to her babysitting job. Bruno flirts with her and they exchange numbers. Bruno tries to sense if Madchen can read his thoughts...