In the 1868 winter, Eben Frost retrieves a silver medal from a Boston pawnshop and presents it to Dr. W.T.G. Morton's widow, Elizabeth, who explains that Frost was the first person given anesthesia by her father, a Boston dentist. The story flashes back 20 years to show Morton's discovery of "letheon," a highly rectified sulfuric ether, and his decision to keep the secret to avoid seeing a girl undergo a painful amputation.
The Great Moment
A 19th century dentist's pursuit of anesthesia acceptance unfolds in this biographical drama.