In the initial chapters of Stella Maris, we are introduced to Dr. Cohen, a psychologist, and Alicia Western, a voluntarily admitted patient in a psychiatric hospital. Alicia’s decision to seek refuge in this environment stems from the traumatic experience of having to make the heart-wrenching choice of terminating her brother’s life support in an Italian hospital. Faced with the agonizing reality of her brother’s coma following a car accident, Alicia opted for flight, returning to America to evade the impending loss. Alicia is a doctoral student and former child prodigy. She earned a full scholarship to study mathematics at the University of Chicago, graduating when she was just 16. She specializes in topos theory or Topology, which is the study of geometric entities in space. This scholarly pursuit mirrors her quest to extract meaning from the intricacies of the world around her. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of Alicia’s intricate personal history and her struggle to grapple with profound emotional challenges.

As Alicia contemplates the fabric of reality, it becomes evident that she grapples with hallucinations, which she labels “nonexistent persons.” Notably, these apparitions have not made an appearance in the hospital, hinting at a deliberate exclusion, reminiscent of a church shielding itself from malevolent spirits.