Recklessly one night, Winston and Julia show up at O’Brien’s apartment. Uncharacteristically, the apartment is neat and clean, without the usual stink of boiled cabbage. It smells of good food and good cigarettes. Besides, since O’Brien also has the rare privilege of being able to turn off the telescreen, Winston and Julia believe they can indeed enjoy privacy for some time.

Winston is intimidated by the situation and nervously blurts out the real reason for their visit to O’Brien—they believe that O’Brien is part of a bigger conspiracy against the Party and its officials, and seek to ally with him. Upon hearing this, O’Brien offers them a glass of wine, a luxury rarely seen, if ever, outside the Inner Party circles. O’Brien acknowledges that he is indeed a member of the Brotherhood, and the three sit down along with Martin, another person pretending to be an employee of O’Brien’s and the Brotherhood. They raise a toast to Goldstein. Following this, O’Brien briefs them on the risks of being involved with the Brotherhood, and how, if they are caught, they may never be assisted. Winston and Julia find all the terms laid out by O’Brien acceptable, except one: they are not prepared to be separated from each other.

As they share a cigarette and prepare to leave, O’Brien asks Julia to leave first. He also tells Winston that he will soon arrange for a copy of the book by Goldstein. Meanwhile, Winston is curious to know whether O’Brien can fill in the missing lines from the old ditty that Charlington was reciting. It turns out that O’Brien indeed can.