Flora Walton never dreamed further than the threshold of her mother's apothecary shop. Isolated from the outside world, the rigid hierarchies of the lazy southern town of Cricket Ditch dictate her life. That is, until Dr. Haverford arrives. A plague has overrun the cities in the north, which has left the doctor desperate to discover a cure. He journeys south when he learns that the people of Cricket Ditch are unaffected by the illness, and becomes intrigued by Flora's knowledge. Suspecting that she is the reason for the plague's limited reach, he steals her away to his laboratory in the city to hone her skills. Neither anticipates the spiral that will follow, dragging them into the depths of obsession and ulterior motives.