Josef K. wakes up to find that his landlady’s cook has not brought him his breakfast. When he rings for her, a strange man enters his room while another waits outside the door. The men, who introduce themselves as Willem and Franz, tell K. that he is under arrest. K. demands to know the charges against him, but the strangers explain that they are only warders and as such cannot supply any information. K. is ordered to go back to his room, where he wonders whether his colleagues at the bank are playing a prank on him, as it is his 30th birthday.

K. is soon summoned by one of the warders to meet with the inspector. The warder instructs him to change into a black suit and then takes him to an adjoining room, which has recently been rented by a typist, Fräulein Bürstner. The inspector is not able to give K. any more information than the warders, and after a brief exchange he tells K. that he is free to go to work: Though he is under arrest, he is not to be confined in any way. The inspector and the warders depart, and K.