Closely adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's short story, this animated tale of a time of pestilence paints a picture of what might have been Poe's own feelings of fatalistic helplessness in the face of the White Plague, tuberculosis, which had claimed several members of his family. Artistically told in a surreal expressionistic style, this film also draws on Poe's own use of colorful and detailed description in the story.