The film fictionalizes what happened in the "mysterious" five days before Edgar Allan Poe's death. A brutal murder case in which a mother and daughter were killed at the same time occurred in Baltimore. After investigating, local police officer Emmett (Luke Evans) found that the murderer's criminal methods were exactly the same as those in Edgar Allan Poe's (John Cusack) novel. Just when Edgar Allan Poe was called to the police station for questioning, another murder case occurred, and the method was still based on his novel. After learning about the murderer's method, Emmett invited Edgar Allan Poe to serve as a consultant to help solve the case. As the case went deeper, Emmett discovered that Edgar Allan Poe would become the next target of this cruel murderer. Just when everyone was doing their best to protect Edgar Allan Poe's safety, the murderer unexpectedly kidnapped his lover Emily (Alice Eve). Who is the real murderer? Can Edgar Allan Poe use his novel to uncover this murder game?