An English professor, who alienates her students, has always had control over her life. That is until she is diagnosed with a devastating illness. She agrees to undergo a series of procedures that are brutal, extensive and experimental. She finds that the fine line between life and death can only be walked with wit.

Robert Merivel abandons his medical studies to revel in gluttony, indolence, & buffoonery at the court of King Charles II. He becomes King Charles' medic to the royal dogs, and is delegated to marry the royal mistress. When he falls in love with her, however, he is banished from court, leading to work in a Quaker Bedlam.