Content Warning: The source material and this guide discuss violence toward women (including implications of rape and incest), child loss, miscarriage, violent death from murder and execution, the mistreatment of someone with a disability, animal abuse, substance use, mental illness, and racism against a Romani person.

The story begins in a psychiatric hospital, where a doctor named Shepherd visits a patient named Mrs. Bainbridge (whose first name is later revealed to be Elsie). Elsie has been there for at least a year after a traumatic event that involved a fire rendered her mute. She has a history of attacking the nurses. Dr. Shepherd gives her a chalkboard to write anything that might help the staff understand what happened to her. Elsie knows that some people have labeled her a “murderess,” but she struggles with remembering the details of her ordeal and questions if it was even real. The attendant explains her silence, saying, “[She] [k]nows where they’ll put her if she ain’t in here” (2). Using the chalkboard, she asks why the doctor wants to know what happened, and he says he wants to “cure” her so she can leave. However, the thought of leaving is terrifying.