As the vain and self-absorbed poets continue their campaign of destruction via awful verse and catastrophic romantic advice in Dryden Abbey, tutor Garrick finds himself struggling in the classroom, with increasingly distracted and agitated pupils eroding all of his hard work and reducing him to using all things dead and decaying in order to keep Desmond and Lavinia's minds on their lessons. As if that isn't enough, his parents embark on a mad countryside ramble, their ultimate destination being Dryden Abbey and a face-to-face meeting with their son's unholy employers. Meanwhile, with Phillip Priestley's unexpected appearance, Desmond's world slowly unravels as infatuation, lust, confusion, and revulsion drive him into wilder mood swings and an overwhelming desire to play with his father's antique executioner's axe. Mr. Sherbourne's coldly distant yet attractive presence in Dryden Abbey further complicates things, prompting Desmond to do something he never thought he'll ever do: reach out to unlikely allies for help. In the midst of the wild goings on around them, Garrick and Desmond will realize that the chasm that separates them as distinct species will not only teach them important lessons on understanding and acceptance, but also forge a stronger bond of friendship than they expected.