Lawrence Chimball is a professor at Cambridge University. Years ago, his sister Gwen was married to Den McCall, a senior member of the McCall crime family. The couple had two sons before they divorced. When Den’s brother Reg dies, Lawrence takes his nephews to their uncle’s funeral. At the repast, Reg’s widow Maureen introduces Lawrence to Mr. Pigsny, a close friend of Reg’s. Pigsny shows Den and Lawrence a bizarre, symbolic art print. Reg commissioned it shortly before his death, and it is a figurative representation of himself in hell. Disturbed, Lawrence quickly leaves the McCall home. Back at Cambridge, he finds that Den has sent him a priceless Ming vase that had belonged to Reg. One day, Lawrence goes to see a play. He notices Mr. Pigsny in the audience and approaches him after the performance. Upon returning to his on-campus apartment, Lawrence discovers Pigsny has sent him a slightly different version of that same strange print. That night, he hears music in the quad. Pigsny is playing the flute outside his window. Den reports a similar experience over the phone. The next day, Lawrence calls Gwen. She casually mentions that a slug infestation has ruined her garden. He later gets in touch with Maureen. She says that Reg became interested in spiritualism about a year before his death, which is how he met Mr. Pigsny. While walking to class, Lawrence chats with the groundskeeper, who mentions that slugs are destroying the plants. He then runs into Pigsny. They go to his apartment, and Lawrence inquires about his relationship with Reg. Pigsny explodes. He says Lawrence wanted an explanation about the afterlife, and he gave him one. As he screams, gelatinous slugs spill out of his mouth and stain the heirloom carpet. Enraged at the mess, Lawrence pushes Pigsny out of the open window. When he looks down, he sees the shattered Ming vase on the pavement instead of Pigsny’s body. Lying near the shards is another piece of artwork, and it’s covered in slug slime.