Alone on a dark stage still dressed for a previous production of Stagecoach, Thomas is on the phone, frustrated that he hasn’t found the right actress for his new play, an adaptation of a Sacher-Masoch novel about a man who signs a contract to be the love slave of the Victorian dominatrix he adores. Thomas is dubious when a vulgar, rather common woman shows up late for the auditions, bedecked in leather and studs. He refuses to hear her audition, but when she claims her name is Vanda, the very name of the character in his play, he relents. As Vanda reads, a transformation takes place, one that arouses much more in Thomas than his curiosity.
