Jane Paterson

Passion concentrates on Grainger's unusual relationship with his mother and his sexual peculiarities (especially his obsessive self-flagellation, though homosexuality is also hinted at) which affect his relationship with a woman who comes to love him. It is set mainly in London in 1914, when Grainger's mother Rose was ill (she would later jump to her death in New York, upset by ill-founded rumours of incest with her son).

Jim Preston receives a yacht as an anniversary present from his wealthy wife Ellen. He plans to kill her for her entire fortune. To carry out the murder plan, he makes a contact with Mike, a crazed rape killer who has been terrorizing the city. Mike agrees to be the assassin for a large quantity of heroin. However he suspects that Preston will kill him as soon as his assignment is complete, so he finds a woman who looks exactly like Ellen and kills her instead.