A play about a half-crazed married couple locked together in isolation. Edgar, a garrison captain, and his wife, Alice, a thwarted actor, prepare to celebrate 25 years of married torment in the fortress they laughably call home. Half-starved and seething with contempt for everyone on the island, they fall with malign glee on Alice's cousin, Kurt, who arrives to be the new quarantine master. Since it was Kurt who brought them together, he becomes a weapon in their domestic warfare, as well as someone to confide in. But, contaminated by their viral passion, Kurt eventually beats a retreat leaving the pair in a state of exhausted reconciliation.