"A young man named Eric Marshall goes to Prince Edward Island to teach, and meets a mute girl that has perfect hearing named Kilmeny. He visits her for a long time until he falls in love with her. When he proposes she rejects him, even though she loves him in return.

Meanwhile, Eric's good friend David who is a renowned throat doctor, comes to the island and visits Eric. He examines Kilmeny, and says that nothing will cure her but an extreme psychological need to speak..."