In which the errant brilliance of a disgraced young surgeon named Black Dillon is presented amidst the squalid confines of the Four Courts Marshalsea, where Mr. Dangerfield proposes a desperate and skilful operation to awaken the insensible Dr. Sturk. The scene is marked by sharp contrasts of appearance and character, mingled with a heavy air of vice and calculation, as a perilous bargain is struck to restore speech and perhaps unearth hidden truths.