The story is embellished from events which allegedly took place at the Swiss villa of Lord Byron on the night of June 16, 1816. Byron's guests include poet Percy Shelley and his future wife Mary; Mary's half-sister Claire and Byron's leech-happy personal physician Dr. John Polidori. Byron promises them a night of horror like only a mad poet can deliver — after partaking of laudanum and other hallucinogens, the guests tell ghost stories while exploring the dark corridors of his home. From here, Russell dives headlong into madness, discarding plot structure in favor of fever-dream set pieces in which the guests confront living manifestations of their own fears and insecurities — creative, mortal and sexual, among others.