1850's England William Hartright and his sister-in-law Marian are commissioned to write a biography of Victorian artist J M W Turner The more they discover about the depraved company he kept, the dark places he frequented, and his mysterious link to an unspeakable act, the more his true life slips out of reach Walter and Marian begin to wonder if they can untangle fact from an expansive web of conspiracy, or if this is a question too costly to answer