Act I opens with a set description; the play takes place in the Tyrones’ summer home in August 1912, with a range of English and European literature on the shelves. The family has just finished breakfast, and the narrator introduces James and Mary. Mary Tyrone is 54 years old, and she looks younger except for her knotted fingers. She is self-conscious about her fingers, and she dresses plainly. James Tyrone, called simply “Tyrone” for the duration of the play, is 65 years old, and he also looks younger than he is. He is an actor, and his demeanor is deliberate and performed as such, but his clothes are also plain and worn.

The two move to the living room, and Tyrone comments on Mary’s weight gain, which he encourages. The two wonder why their sons, Jamie and Edmund, are still in the dining room, and Tyrone speculates lightly that they are scheming against him. Mary chastises Tyrone’s business deals with a man named McGuire, but the two resolve not to argue. Hearing coughing in the other room, Mary comments on Edmund having a cold and needing more food. Tyrone tells Mary to worry about herself, referencing how she just “came back.