More than a century apart the lives of two artists intersect through a series of mysterious, eerily beautiful photographs of the dead.

London, 1865. Desperate for work, Minnie takes employment as a maid for the wealthy young Culpepper twins. The siblings lead a strange and unconventional life: Edmund operates a laboratory from the house while Edith experiments with morbid photography. Drawn in by a dangerous attraction to one of the twins, and with a sick sister of her own to provide for, by the time Minnie makes a disturbing discovery it's too late - she must stay and unravel the mysteries of Culpepper House before she becomes a victim of one of Edith's photographs herself.

London, present day. Grieving artist Hadley is consumed by an album of Victorian death photography, including the exquisite image of a deceased young girl with a swan. When this photograph is involved in an art world scandal, Hadley is given the opportunity to create an installation surrounding the image. But the enigmatic Kit Culpepper, of the Culpepper Trust, has other plans. He offers Hadley an eye-watering sum of money to sell him the album and never speak of its contents again. As Hadley digs deeper into the album's truths, she begins to suspect Kit Culpepper is guarding a deathly secret ... and she's not entirely sure how far he'll go to keep it.