Set in Venice in the late nineteenth century and based on Henry James' eponymous novella, it is a story of obsession, grandeur lost and dreams of Byronic adventures. Ambitious editor Morton Vint is fascinated by his favorite Romantic poet and by his icon's short and wildly romantic life. Having traveled from America to Venice, he is determined to get his hands on the letters the poet wrote to his beautiful lover and muse, Juliana Bordereau.