Loretta Lawson is on her way to a symposium in Paris, to present a paper to an international journal for feminist literary criticism A friend has lent her his empty flat, but she is startled to find that someone else appears to be staying in the flat but, as she is only there for a couple of nights, she doesn't disturb the sleeper She is the one who is disturbed when returning to the flat the next day, following a stressful meeting at the symposium she finds the stranger gone, but the bed sheets covered in blood