The brooding, introverted Count von O- arrives in Venice during the carnival in order to escape from his duties and live incognito. But after encountering a enigmatic Armenian stranger who makes an uncanny pronouncement, a bizarre chain of events unfolds, involving a Jesuit secret society, a ghostly seance and a mysterious Sicilian magician - leading the Count to question his faith and morality.

First serialized in 1787-89, this multilayered, fragmentary novel - which gave Friedrich Schiller a platform to expound his Enlightenment ideas on society and religion - has thrilled and engaged lovers of Gothic literature for over two centuries.