World famous cognitive scientist John Paulus, inspired by a Spanish short story, practices magical conjurations in order to bring about the death of his wife, Claire. After Claire dies in a house fire set by someone else, Paulus is convicted of murder and jailed, first in a high security penitentiary, then in Penetanguishene's notorious facility for the criminally insane. However, thanks to the condemned man's son, Sasha, hope is in sight towards the end. Shades of Marlowe's Dr. Faustus, Paulus's pact with the devil, re-told through National Weekly News releases, provides the black-humour framework to this otherwise starkly realistic tale of a miscarriage of justice.