Set in Venice in 1885, Morton Vint, an ambitious young writer fascinated by iconic romantic poet Jeffrey Aspern, strives to get his hands on the letters Aspern wrote to his beautiful mistress, Juliana Bordereau. Now, decades later, Juliana lives in a Venetian palazzo with her niece, whom she dominates and Morton will come to seduce. But do these letters really exist and what scandalous information about Juliana and Aspern will they bring to the surface?