The book starts with a prologue in 1952 in which Margaret, who has just had her third baby, gathers some ladies in her house for a tupperware session.
She feels nervous and embarrassed, and at some point when she is speaking, she presses one of the containers against her chest and the contents spill out of it. Then she bursts out crying.
Then the novel takes to 1933 and we are introduced to Ruth Emeraldine, who is the assistant superintendent at Emeraldine Hospital, which is a mental clinic which is owned by her family. Ruth believes in modern methods to treat the patients, and she feels very strongly about it as her only brother, Harry, returned from the war broken and he eventually committed suicide.
The hospital has hired a new doctor, Robert Apter, who makes a good impression on Ruth. Robert has some new ideas about treating mental conditions as he believes the key is in surgery of the brain. Ruth and Robert fall in love and marry. During their honeymoon they attend a convention where they meet Dr Moriz, who is a pionneer in brain surgery. Weeks after returning from their honeymoon, they hear that Moriz has performed his first leucotomy, and Robert wants to use the same methods, and they hire a neurosurgeon, Dr Edward Wilkinson..
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