Nicholas Cabot, 25 years old and newly endowed with his uncle's fortune, takes lodgings at the house of retired tragedian Leslie Sturt, intending to devote his time to perfecting an invention for recording dreams. At the Sturt household, Nicholas hears "Sphinx", a short piece of piano music by local composer Lore Jensen. Nicholas sees the Sphinx as being the symbol of "The dreams we dream during deep sleep and remember nothing of afterwards...",...