London, 1880. Mortimer Granville, a dedicated and forward-thinking young doctor, is struggling to establish his career. While Granville preaches sanitation and germ theory, the old guard of doctors clinging to leeches and hacksaws, scoff at his upstart ideas, and show him the door. Granville's fortunes change when he arrives for an interview at the well-appointed private offices of Dr. Dalrymple, London's leading specialist in women's medicine.