A dramatization of a novella by American writer Henry James. This subtle, psychologically profound story is narrated by young literary scholar Henry Jones, who, while searching for documents related to the romantic poet Jeffrey Aspern, finds himself in Venice at the end of the 19th century. Juliana Bordereau, whom Aspern sang about in his work and who owns much of his correspondence, still lives there. However, Juliana refuses to show it to Jones because these letters are the only link connecting her to life. Jones therefore decides to resort to trickery. He moves in with Juliana under a false name as a lodger and, by pretending to be in love, wins over her niece Tina, who is ultimately willing to help him. However, it soon becomes clear that such manipulation of people, even if motivated by a noble goal, does not pay off.