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Phyllis Aylmer is often preoccupied with conflict between romance and real life. A fall in her boarding house leaves her with a black eye, so she decides to take a day away from her typing business and visit her cousin Connie. Connie is ill and bed-ridden and Phyllis finds herself taking on the domestic chores and her indecision about romance is resolved.
Deamer relates the story of Oshichi and a student priest, Yamada Saheit, whom Oshichi met while taking refuge in a Buddhist temple after her father's house was burnt down in a fire. After she returned home she longed to see Sahei again so set fire to her house, hoping that would lead to their being reunited. The fire spread, burning much of the city, and Oshichi was executed for her actions.