 It tells the story of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago from the viewpoint of the designers, including Daniel Burnham, and also tells the story of H. H. Holmes, a criminal figure in that same time often credited as the first modern serial killer.Leonardo DiCaprio purchased the film rights in 2010.The book is set in Chicago in 1893, interweaving the true tales of Daniel H. Burnham, the architect behind the 1893 World's Fair, and Dr. H. H. Holmes, a pharmacist and serial killer who lured his victims to their deaths in his elaborately constructed "Murder Castle".