Iris Vegan has had a migraine for seven months straight. She tried to push through it at first, as she feared failure on her upcoming oral exams, but after the pain in her head becomes chaos in the rest of her body, she has no choice but to check into the hospital. Her roommates in the hospital make matters worse; one, Mrs. M., is a cantankerous, abrasive woman who cannot walk, and the other, Mrs. O, has multiple personality disorder. They, along with her doctors and nurses, variously blame her for her own pain or discount it completely. Mrs. O. poses constant problems to everyone around her. She raves incoherently most days, and the staff designate her as an escape risk. One night, Mrs. O. somehow escapes her bonds and pinches Iris in her sleep. A week later, the pinches turn into molestation, but the hospital staff offers no help. Iris's pain reaches its zenith. Consciousness, even sanity, become liminal affairs. This, of course, is also the night when Mrs. O. escapes, which earns her the moniker "Houdini" from Mrs. M. Stephen, Iris's chilly ex-boyfriend, visits the next morning, but he hastily retreats when Mrs. O begins to call plaintively to Iris. She shouts "Eleanor" — she has finally remembered her own name. The nurses blame Iris for the commotion. One day, Iris wakes up to see that Mrs. O is gone for good.