Octavia Kincade is a conceited local girl who hosts weekly dinner parties. She berates Eva Thorvald for supposedly ruining her Sunday night dinner party. Octavia, who values being the most attractive person in the room, insults Eva behind her back, calling her fat, ugly, and poor. It’s revealed that Eva now works as a sous-chef at Bar Garrotxa, a tapas restaurant, under chef Mitch Diego. The Steamboat Inn is now closed.

During a dinner party, Octavia presents a summer heirloom tomato casserole, leading to a disagreement with Eva about the tomato variety. Eva impresses everyone with a Caesar salad, catching the attention of a man called Robbe, whom Octavia admires for his wealth. Robbe kisses Eva, intensifying Octavia’s resentment. After losing her job and financial support from her father due to failing a drug test, Octavia’s animosity toward Eva deepens. She views Eva as arrogant and disruptive. At another dinner party, Octavia and Eva both prepare sweet corn succotash, but Eva’s, made with heirloom golden bantam corn, proves superior. To spare Octavia embarrassment, Eva graciously accepts credit for the inferior dish with red peppers instead.

Robbe and Eva plan to move to Bali and organize a party to raise money to cover her father’s medical expenses in her absence.