Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and short story writer. Heart and Science turns on the fate of the orphaned Carmina Graywell, who is left in the charge of her aunt and guardian Mrs. Gallilee when her fiance is forced to take an extended trip to Canada's drier climes in order to recover his health, Over the issue of her inheritance Mrs. Gallilee schemes to manipulate, control and ultimately destroy the naive but strong-willed Carmina.