Shell shock is a psycho-neurotic condition like hysteria. The stress of warfare can affect some men to the point that they become disoriented. They cannot tell what is real and what is unreal. They are treated by psychotherapy in a sanatorium until their minds are healed and they are able to return to life outside their safe and protected world. Slowly but surely, Captain O'Reilly dreamed less and less of the horrors he had seen, as he explains...