Madness is a novella about a woman by the name of Cynthia Wellsworth. The story takes place in eighteenth century England, shortly after the American Revolution. All is well in Cynthia's world until she is visited by her former lover, Roland Hertford, who is presumed dead. Roland plots to make Cynthia, and her vast fortune, his own, but Cynthia has other plans. She, along with the help of her lover, James, conspire to rid themselves of Roland forever.