For more than twenty years, Emerenc managed the household of a writer couple in Budapest. She had her authority firmly in hand. She enjoyed being needed. However, she remained distant. Yet, to those she served, she offered countless acts of love, including the writer, with whom she gradually developed an almost intimate relationship. Then Emerenc fell ill. She died believing that her mistress never loved her. Otherwise, she would not have allowed anyone to invade her locked apartment and take her to the hospital. Since then, the writer has been haunted by a recurring dream: she stands before a locked door, which she believes she has the key to. But no matter how hard she tries, she cannot open the door.