An impromptu party on the picturesque shores of Lake Geneva in July 1816 leads to a ghoulish night of terror: a night which will ultimately inspire the writing of two great horror classics: Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and Dr. Polidori's 'The Vampyre'. Exiles Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) and his macabre companion Dr. Polidori (Timothy Spall), play host to the poet Shelley (Julian Sands), his mistress Mary (Natasha Richardson), and her step-sister Claire (Myriam Cyr). As a violent storm rages outside, after dinner conversation turns to the telling of ghost stories.