Synopsis (noun)

1. A brief general survey of a subject, especially a literary work.
2. A condensed statement of the contents of a document or speech, a summary or abstract of a document or speech.

Origin:

Late 16th century (in the sense "general view"): from greek sunopsis, from sun- "together" + opsis "view".

Examples:

1. The agent asked me to send a synopsis of my novel before considering it for publication.
2. The professor asked the students to submit a synopsis of the research paper they were working on.
3. Before watching the movie, I read the synopsis to get an idea of what it was about.
4. The synopsis of the book was not very helpful in understanding the plot.
5. The synopsis for the presentation was only a page long but it covered the main points.