While attempting to apprehend a nightmare known as the Corinthian, Morpheus, also known as “Dream”, is captured in an occult ritual by British aristocrat Roderick Burgess, who was attempting to capture Death.
Roderick steals Morpheus’s totems of power: his helm, a pouch of sand, and a ruby; all of which are eventually taken by Roderick’s resentful lover Ethel Cripps, who is pregnant with Roderick’s child. Morpheus’s imprisonment causes an epidemic of “sleepy sickness” which lasts for 106 years. In 2021, Roderick’s son, Alex, is an old man who continues to keep Morpheus imprisoned and is cared for by his partner, Paul.
After Paul accidentally erases part of the runes keeping Morpheus bound, Morpheus reaches into the dream of one of his guards to destroy his cage, allowing him to escape, condemning Alex to an eternal sleep.
Source: Wikipedia
