A woman stricken with TB, or consumption, decides the only way to have a chance of getting better is to move to a state with a dry climate, and then marry a man. She knows he is very overweight, but does not tell him when they correspond that she is sick with a possibly contagious disease. He, on the other hand, does tell her that he has challenges; namely cutting out his drinking and gambling and losing at least a hundred pounds if he wants a family, and that he needs a woman who can help him achieve his goals.