Mortmain

A series of linked tales follows a prominent gentleman who, after a violent episode, returns to public life while privately tormented by the consequences of a nearby death. Medical experimentation and surgical detail sit alongside fashionable parties and social maneuvering, as investigation, rumor, and personal conscience drive episodic encounters. Characters from professional and domestic circles intersect in episodes of suspense, rescue, and pursuit, and recurring motifs—scientific curiosity, moral responsibility, and the tension between outward reputation and inner guilt—shape a narrative that moves between forensic detail and social observation.