past. The opening portion introduces readers to Doctor Wybrow, who is at the pinnacle of his medical career when an enigmatic woman seeks his counsel, insisting that her case is not one for a specialist in mental illness. As she confesses her deep-seated fears about her state of mind and hints at her troubled past involving a complicated romantic entanglement, the doctor becomes increasingly fascinated by her. The narrative quickly escalates as the reader is drawn into her peculiar story, along with Wybrow's internal conflict as he grapples with his professional integrity amidst swirling suspicions about the woman’s true nature and her potential influence on his life. (This is an automatically generated summary.)