Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Jim Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank, a loan shark with an interest...

A parallel narrative of a Victorian-era gentleman and the social outcast he risks everything to love, and of the contemporary actors cast in those roles and immersed in their own forbidden affair.