John Eagles, the author of ‘Starting to Shrink’, gets in the spotlight as a Scottish newspaper, The Scotsman, covers his story. The title of the news is, ‘When the best way to change facts is through fiction’ and it highlights author’s ideas about the psychiatric illness and how psychiatrists are landed into trouble sometimes.

The story begins with Dr. Douglas Barker, who is the main character of the novel. His first year in the field of psychiatry is filled with a number of interesting characters and challenging patients. His job is fantastic but things start drifting when he falls for her voluptuous consultant, Dr. Burlington. Soon a patient accuses the psychiatrist of having sex with her, which is backed by Burlington too.

After this incident, his whole future is thrown into jeopardy as the complaint goes to the General Medical Council. He is asked to present himself in front of a jury in London, where his career hangs in the balance.