Set in post-Napoleonic France, Géricault, a rebellious artist, grieves his friend's death after the Medusa shipwreck. Amidst a tragic love affair, he seeks purpose by pursuing justice for the disaster, obsessed with the catastrophic event.

Set during the turmoil of post-Napoleonic France, the story centers on Géricault, artist and enfant terrible, who learns that his best friend has died after the Naval vessel Medusa runs aground near Senegal. Plunged into grief, and entangled in a passionate but doomed love affair, Géricault begins to search for a reason to live. In this quest, he becomes morbidly obsessed with the disaster -- and with seeing justice served.—lakesidemaiden