Daniel Scruptwin, businessman, takes a trip across seas for some unknown business-like reason. Unbeknown to his family, co-workers, and most of himself, he has a terrible secret: Multiple Personality Disorder has plagued him for decades. Mostly it was unnoticeable; in fact, most of the characters don't seem to realize his disorder. The audience, however, is tipped off by Scruptwin's sudden exclamation of "I'm a pancake!" partway through the first scene in conjunction with sudden, jerking "flipping" movements. Mostly his friends dismiss such "episodes" as "Stress of the business," as co-worker Nick says repeatedly through Act I. Nick himself is rather convinced he is a zebra with an above-average intelligence, so Daniel's outbursts seem quite tame.