As a child, Luke's mother often tells him the story of the Dumb House, an experi
ment on newborn babies raised in silence, designed to test the innateness of lan
guage. As Luke grows up, his interest in language and the delicate balance of li
fe and death leads to amateur dissections of small animals - tiny hearts reveale
d still pumping, as life trickles away. But as an adult, following the death of
his mother, Luke's obsession deepens, resulting in a haunting and bizarre experi
ment on Luke's own children.
