A love triangle of weepers. Paul Simpson, 24, failed medical school because he empathized too much with his patients’ pain. Ms Morgan, at 49, weeps whenever she opens her poetry book in the high school literature classes she teaches. Amanda Roach, 20, Paul’s girlfriend, chokes during her figure skating competitions whenever Paul is in the audience. Then, one afternoon, Amanda sees Paul locked in an embrace with Ms Morgan. The blade of an ice skate, a baffled corpse, and a quiet observer tell the rest of the story.