Changes

Eugene, after spending some time as a menial worker, is happy to fall into the orbit of an aging ageing biographer, whose lifelong task is a work about the favourite author they have in common, Constance Eakins. The old man's collection of Eakins is something to covet – and his daughter isn't bad, either. It's just that Eakins is something of an enigma – is he alive, in the remote hills above Trieste, northern Italy, or is he long since dead? While no-one can sort that out, said daughter can at least go looking.

Elsewhere, in the same city, two aging ageing men suffer a break in their long-standing friendship, as one leaves for, yes, you guessed it, northern Italy. The one left behind is more than unhappy to see the closure of such a relationship.