England, 1868. On the eve of his execution for murder, Louis Mazzini, Duke d’Ascoyne, is writing his memoirs. His mother was of the D’Ascoyne family and his father was an Italian singer who died shortly after his birth. Luis’s mother quarreled with relatives over marriage and lived all her life in poverty. When she died, the D’Ascoins even refused to bury her in the family crypt. Manzini decides to eliminate all 8 living members of the D’Ascoyne family in order to take revenge on them and claim the ducal title. A macabre string of murders begins, D’Ascoyne the banker drowns on a boat trip. Henry, an avid amateur photographer, is killed in a laboratory explosion. An elderly priest drinks a poisoned drink….