A 17 year old girl named Therese is given a blank book by her friend Julia. At first, she doesn't know what she'll do with it. Soon, though, Therese comes to love the book. Later, Therese rides a train into the city to receive treatment for her her mental abnormality: individual words trigger her to imagine elaborate, unrelated scenes. On the train ride, Therse describes seeing fugitives and widespread desolation. Once in the city, Therese stays in a sterile clinic room and undergoes a series of tests from her doctor. The doctor is intent on conducting research and treating his patient's illness but is unsympathetic to Therese's confusion and emotional turmoil. She never gets to see the city. As the treatment continues, Therese learns to focus on one word like her doctor wants with great effort. Still, she itches to see the city for the first time, to be overwhelmed by sensory stimulation, and to write about everything she imagines in the book she was given.