For seven years, John Warlow will inhabit three rooms in the cellar of a manor house, in complete isolation from any social contact. The experiment, a classic Enlightenment exercise gone mad, will have unforeseen consequences for all included. This seductive tale of self-delusion and obsession is both elegant and unforgettably sinister. What kind of person keeps a man underground for seven years? And who would agree to be part of such an experiment?