A brief encounter with a mysterious woman puts all thoughts of work out of Joe's mind and leads Alan to believe that his boss may be cracking up under pressure! Francesca carries on acting oddly, and purposely smashes a glass onto the floor of The Woolpack. Paolo gets talking with Eric about antiques and books. Paolo says he will do business but only if the books are worthy, as he does not like his time wasted. Paolo then introduces Eric to Marian.