The Five-Forty-Eight is a short story written by John Cheever that was originally published in the April 10, 1954, issue of The New Yorker[1][2] and later collected in The Housebreaker of Shady Hill and Other Stories (1958) and The Stories of John Cheever (1978).
In 1955 The Five-Forty-Eight was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Magazine Award.[3][4][5]
The story takes place in downtown Manhattan, New York City, where the protagonist (Blake), attempts to escape his former employee (Miss Dent), who was fired shortly after a one-night stand. Miss Dent eventually catches up to Blake, where they talk on the Five-Forty-Eight train towards Shady Hill.
