Rising from the harsh world of poverty to a life of fairytale luxury under her aunt's care, the beautiful and financially ambitious Kate Croy, already romantically involved with the promising journalist Merton Densher, begins to meet Milly Theale, a New York socialite with an enormous fortune. When Kate discovers Milly is gravely ill and harbors a burning attraction to Densher, she devises a romantic deception to secure her financial future. As the dying Milly retreats to the carnivalesque splendor of a Venetian palazzo, where she becomes the vulnerable center of a greedy circle of fortune-seekers, James unfolds a compelling, dark tale of inescapable passion, betrayal, human resilience, and remorse.