The novel opens with a flashback to the night of the murder. It is the day before Valentine's Day, and the two lovers are locked in a cell together. The lovers are shocked to find that the jailor has locked them up in a cage, and that the inmate who is drawing all the time is also in the cell. When the lovers see the inmate, they are horrified to see that he is drawing nothing but eyes. They are also shocked to learn that the prison doctor is coming to the cell every year to check on the condition of the imprisoned man. The doctor tells the lovers that he will visit them again next year, and they are shocked at the doctor's statement that the man is still drawing and that he has killed his own fiancee. Mary is horrified by the sight of her lover's eyes, and she tells the doctor that she will never forgive him for killing his fiancee. She also tells him that they could have lived happily together if they had not been jealous of the man who was passing by.