Neck Summary

A journalist, a fan of modern painting, meets the wife of a famous collector at a dinner party. This woman, Natalia, had captured Sir Basil Turton, the most eligible bachelor, against everyone's wishes. When the journalist meets her, he forces an invitation to her home, for he very much wants to meet her husband. There, he sees the sculptures on the lawn. The atmosphere in the house is slightly strange, however; for instance, the butler asks for 1/3 of the journalist's winning at cards, rather than a tip, for he tells him that Natalia always overbids her hand. At dinner that evening, a guest called the Major seems to be infatuated with Natalia, as does a female guest called La Rosa. The journalist and Sir Turton spend their time discussing sculpture; in the morning, Sir Basil takes him for a walk in the garden...