Anna O

The narrative flashes back to a year prior to Ben’s date, where most of the story takes place. At this time, he’s in his London apartment. His boss Virginia Bloom calls him from the Abbey Sleep Clinic. Though it’s late at night, Bloom insists Ben must come to the Abbey for a special client. She’s been told not to discuss too much on an open line. The Abbey gets many high-end clients, such as politicians and celebrities, but it’s rare Bloom can’t discuss a patient. Ben is intrigued and confused; he pleads for some information. Bloom admits it’s about the Anna O case.

At the clinic, Ben feels unsettled about Bloom mentioning Anna O, who is the holy grail of sleep cases, ever since Anna’s mystery started four years prior.

He meets with Bloom and a newcomer named Stephen Donnelly, the Deputy Director at the Ministry of Justice. Donnelly informs him of the rules: Ben must never admit they’ve met, and information he learns can’t leave the building. Ben is uneasy, so he asks if he has a choice to agree or not. Donnelly replies he doesn’t.

Ben, Donnelly, and Bloom discuss the Anna O case. Everyone is familiar with the high-profile story of Anna O allegedly committing two murders while asleep. Donnelly explains that Ben’s paper titled ‘“Resignation Syndrome and the Criminal Mind: In Search of a New Diagnostic Model” has caught the attention of important people (13). Ben used Anna’s case as a prime example in his paper.

Donnelly questions Ben about his methods to awaken someone with resignation syndrome. Ben’s methods are theoretical; he would need at least three months to try them. Many others have tried methods for the past four years, but Anna O won’t wake up.

Ben confirms that his ex-wife Clara was the first police officer on the Anna O murder scene. Donnelly entrusts Ben to use his new methods to bring Anna back to consciousness because of her upcoming trial. Anna needs to be awake to face justice.

Anna will come to the Abbey soon with her nurse, but she’ll use an alias. Bloom will coordinate the secrecy. No one will know Anna O is there, or they risk the press and other dangerous people, like crazed fans, discovering her. Ben hopes he can heal Anna’s sleeping mind, though he doesn’t know if she’s guilty or innocent.

Ben recalls Anna’s highly publicized tale. Anna Ogilvy, the 25-year-old wealthy daughter of a politician mother and financial manager father, killed her two friends on August 30th, 2019. She was found asleep in a cabin, holding the knife that stabbed her friends Indira and Douglas. Anna also sent a somewhat confessional text to her parents before she fell into deep sleep.

The press dug into Anna’s past, including her work on the magazine Elementary she founded with Indira and Douglas, her prior sleepwalking instances, etc. Fans have nicknamed her Anna O (after Freud’s case) and “Sleeping Beauty.”

Now, Anna’s body still functions with regular test results, but she hasn’t woken up since the murders four years ago.

The next day, Ben and Bloom discuss Anna. Bloom shows him a document labeled RESTRICTED with Anna’s information. Anna’s brain scans and bodily functions are stable. A few weeks ago, the scans changed. Some external stimuli caused Anna’s physical response level to rise, which means she almost woke up. Ben and Bloom are shocked but hopeful by this change.

Anna will arrive soon with the “VIP package” from the Abbey, which gives total privacy and anonymity. Bloom tells Ben that she couldn’t change the law liaison coming with Anna, since it was her case. Ben knows who it will be.

Ben meets with his ex-wife, Clara, who was the first officer on the scene of Anna’s murders. Clara has been promoted to Director of Central Intelligence.

Clara has full custody of their young daughter, Kitty, while he has access. Clara bought a house in London, and Ben moved into a one-bedroom flat. Though they don’t want to go to court, Ben wants more time with Kitty, and he misses Clara.

Clara warns Ben that Anna isn’t a subject for his mind theories; she’s a killer. She wants Ben to do his job so they can bring Anna to justice. Ben defends that he’s here to help a patient, while Clara insists that she’ll be found guilty. In 2019, right after the murders, Anna sent a message to her parents admitting her guilt. The text read: “I’m sorry. I think I’ve killed them” (28). After sending it, Anna fell into her long sleep. Ben knows people have done much more complex things than text while asleep.

Ben apologizes for missing Clara’s recent calls and being late to pick up Kitty from school. Clara wants him to talk to Kitty about her anxiety after seeing disturbing police photos. Ben promises he will.

Clara introduces Ben to Harriet, Anna’s nurse. When Ben references Anna’s scans, Harriet explains the only difference was a new cleaning person played the song “Yesterday” on repeat. Harriet saw Anna’s eyes flicker and her hand move, so she thought the song made Anna react. The doctors disagreed.

Ben works alone with Anna. He plays “Yesterday” again, then touches Anna’s arm softly (since light touch calms the mind). He believes by bringing Anna back to happier memories with stimuli, her mind won’t be afraid anymore. She’ll feel safe enough to wake up. Anna’s eyes flicker, which gives him proof of his idea’s effectiveness.

Harriet comes in to feed Anna, so Ben steps outside to talk with Clara. He recalls the hardest parts of their marriage: when Clara had postpartum depression after Kitty was born, and Clara’s affair. Under Clara’s questions, Ben says Anna’s brain is functioning normally, but her mind won’t let her wake up.

After picking Kitty up late from school and having dinner, Ben discusses the photos Kitty saw from Clara’s work. The pictures featured murdered bodies from an investigation. To ease Kitty’s fears, Ben tells her the bloody people were pretending, like in a play. Kitty asks to be one of the pretend bodies next time. Ben wonders how immune he and Clara are to the horrors of their jobs, and if he’s traumatizing Kitty further.

Emily Shepherd (formerly Ogilvy), Anna’s mother, works as a church minister. She gave up her past of luxury and high political standing after Anna’s alleged murders. Emily checks her emails. Though she expects to find messages about Anna from trolls, a sleep doctor named Benedict Prince wants to interview her about Anna. He is working on a new treatment and wishes for her cooperation.

Emily gets lost in the traumatic memories of the night at the Farm, where Anna murdered her two close friends. She remembers her life before it shattered, knowing her daughter would go to jail and her family would crumble. She prays to God for forgiveness.

Ben feels lonely. He falls into a pattern of wine and horror movies nightly. He misses the closeness of Clara and a warm family home seeing Kitty grow. While Kitty sleeps upstairs, Ben checks his work emails. He has threats from strangers stating they’re watching him. Despite his fear, he reasons that no one could know about Anna. If the information leaked, he and his family could be at risk.

To calm his racing thoughts, Ben checks on Kitty. His love for her grounds him. The Abbey then calls him to come in immediately.

At the Abbey, Bloom informs Ben about a reporter who emailed her asking if Anna was stationed at the Abbey. The reporter, Isabelle, has an anonymous source. Bloom and Ben don’t understand how any confidential information was leaked. Ben thinks rumors spread, leading Isabelle to get lucky contacting all sleep clinics in the area.

He worries they’ll drag Clara back into the case. People may target Clara for her investigation or bully Kitty at school, as they did before. Bloom replies that only Anna matters and they pay prices at this job. Ben is shocked at Bloom’s apathy, but she’s very tense.

With the press and high-stress nature of Anna’s case, Bloom offers Ben the chance to turn Anna over to her. Since Bloom is older and her career is almost over, she can take the heat. He considers it, but Anna is the most high-profile case in Britain—one that can reinvigorate his career. Ben chooses to continue with Anna. He believes psychology should be practiced. Bloom agrees.

When Bloom asks about his treatments, Ben states that he needs to give Anna hope again.

Lola is obsessed with Anna O’s case. Unlike other murder mysteries, Anna has gained attention for years; she’s a legend. Blogs, forums, articles, and social media groups have all revolved around Anna.

Lola listens to Ben give an online lecture from his college class (his second job). Ben asks questions like why we can’t remember what happens when we sleep. While she listens to Ben’s lecture, she writes her latest blog about Anna. She impersonated a reporter named Isabelle earlier to give the Abbey a red herring, and now she’s writing a blog about Anna being treated by her “prince,” Dr. Benedict Prince.

Lola uses the handle @Suspect8 because she was one of the eight suspects at the Farm on the night of the murder. She reviews her evidence boards. She’s thrilled that she has more insight than anyone. Not only was she at the Farm, but she took Anna’s notebook from the scene. Lola reads Anna’s notebook entries again. She knows who is guilty.

In Anna’s 2019 notebook, Anna describes how she’s writing quickly. She believes she must be asleep, but she can’t wake up. Blood sticks to her clothes. Anna remembers her friends sleeping in their cabin beds, then a woman’s voice instructing her. She takes her “final act of revenge” with the words “For they must die” (63).