The young literary scholar Roland Michell stumbles upon an unknown love letter from the famous poet Randolph Henry Ash - a sensational discovery and a great opportunity for the aimless researcher. With the help of his colleague Maud Bailey, he attempts to uncover Ash's secret. In the hunt for corroborative documents, Roland and Maud plunge into a passionate affair and become increasingly entangled in a web of ominous intrigues and dangerous complications: for they are not alone in their search for the mysterious recipient.