The wizard Merlin plays a key role at the court of King Arthur in Logres-healer, seer, and wise counselor-but has always been an outsider, shunned for his physical ugliness and tenacious loyalty to the old pagan gods. Yet when the lovely Viviane firmly rejects his advances, he cannot let go of his longing and desire for her. In desperation, Merlin engages in increasingly self-destructive behavior in his attempts to possess Viviane, leading to his eventual downfall and murder.