Philadelphia, 1875. It is the start of term at Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lydia Weston is immersed in teaching her students in the lecture hall and hospital. When the body of a patient, Anna Ward, is dredged out of the Schuylkill River, the death is deemed a suicide. But Lydia is suspicious and is soon brought into the police investigation. Aided by a diary filled with poetry, Lydia discovers more about the young woman. Through her skill at the autopsy table and her clinical acumen, Lydia draws nearer the truth. Soon a terrible secret will be revealed. But Lydia must act quickly, before she becomes the next target of those who wished to silence Anna.