The Fifth Sally

Daniel Keyes, who studied psychopathology for a long time, spent many hours in psychiatric hospitals with specialists working with patients who had rare disorders. As a result, his novels emerged, which detail the most fragile, unpredictable, and interesting mechanism — the human psyche.

The Fifth Sally, written two years before the famous Mysterious Case of Billy Milligan, tells the story of Sally Porter — a waitress from a New York restaurant. At first glance, she is an ordinary, unremarkable woman.

But, unbeknownst to Sally, there are four other women hidden within her. Nola — a cold intellectual artist, Derry — an irrepressible daredevil, Bella — a sexually obsessed failed actress and singer, and finally, Jinx — a potential murderer filled with rage and hatred. Every time Sally Porter finds herself in a difficult situation, she experiences a severe headache and loses consciousness.

That’s when one of her alters appears. If a handsome man shows up, Bella flutters onto the scene. If a problem arises that requires intellectual effort, Nola takes charge.

And if it's necessary to fend off an attacker, the merciless Jinx inevitably intervenes. Psychiatrist Roger Eshem faces a challenging task: to merge four different personalities to create the fifth Sally.