Justin St Arnaud arrives in New Orleans at the start of the nineteenth century to search for the wife and child of his dead friend. Instead, he meets Estelle Lebrun, the daughter of a French Creole gentleman, who is preoccupied with the health of her old nurse, Marietta, and her ailing father. But Justin is out for revenge and the payment of a debt owed by Estelle's father, who is unable to pay. In a fit of devilry, Justin offers her an infamous bargain:...