William Pearl, a philosophy don at an Oxford college, dies of cancer, and his widow, Mary, gets a letter from him. William tells her about his colleague John Landy's scheme for keeping William's brain alive after his death. He also advises Mary not to smoke, not to drink, not to use lipstick, and not to buy a television - and William had spent the long years of their life together disapproving of what Mary wanted to do. Mary calls John Landy and goes to visit what is left of William. She decides to take him home - she has her own ideas about their future relationship.