In this free adaptation of the Henry James novel set in the early 19th century, a writer/critic dedicated to the life of poet Jeffrey Aspern, receives a mission in London. He is to sail to the Balearic Islands, the only place any information about Aspern may possibly be found. Unpublished texts by the poet are thought to be there; in the hands of an excentric old lady and her supposed niece, who live as recluses in an old palace on a remote small island off one of the Baleares. In his search, the writer becomes involved in their lives, while trying to obtain untangle the web of mysteries surrounding Alpern, his last work, and his relationship to these two women.