 The thriller presents a labyrinthine combination of sexual transgression, darkness and intrigue, bearing a strong similarity to other Gothic texts, including "Dracula".The story itself features obscure icons, such as the constant appearance of a woman and child dressed in white, ferocious Rottweilers with a taste for human flesh, Venetians in strange masks and recurring figures of the "Commedia dell'arte"; all of these elements wrapped in a dream-like atmosphere.The young Scottish journalist Martin Gimmle (Grant) is traveling to Venice by train to drop off a copy of his book on European Neo-Nazism to an unknown publisher.