Quacks plot
In Victorian London, four pioneers, friends and rivals fight to make a mark on the world and save lives. Robert Lessing is a surgeon who smokes cigarettes and wears a filthy bloodied apron when performing surgery in front of an audience. He is married to Caroline, a sexually frustrated woman. His best friend is William, a psychologist. Another friend of theirs is John, an alcoholic and drug-addicted anesthetist who owes money to a loan shark. Furthermore, there is Dr. Hendricks, the paranoid and anti-Semitic director of the medical school.