Father Dragos Tepesch, asylum administrator, does not fit Dr. David Montaines expectations. His new employer is too religious, too old world, tootoo, he cant quite put his finger on it. Frightening, maybe? It doesnt make sense. The priest is old and frail, his voice kindly. Its his eyes, David thinks, something in his eyes. Hunger, maybe?
The Wallachian asylum is hopelessly behind the times. His wife, Sally, seems to have left him and, more troubling, his mind is playing tricks on him. Still, this new job is far better than the old. The authorities no longer hound him. The booze is free. He has a whole new practice to build, lunatics desperate for his particular brand of salvation and, right down the hall, Patient Thirteen. Shes silent, young, and oh, so beautiful. Her pain calls to him. And pain, Father Tepesch says, is a meal that must be eaten one bite at time.
David is about to feast.