A clause in the will of an old embittered aunt means that our hero has to choose between two women, cousins of his, of whom one is conventional and submissive and the other beautiful, erotic and unconventional. Trysts are held in the Italian garden in the presence of a stone dragon, a symbol of emotion frozen for all time, just as in a conventional marriage. The hero makes his choice, and unleashes a series of events which will not disappoint affectionados of the tragic gothic melodrama.