Charles Dexter Ward is a well-born Providence youth who discovers that the eighteenth-century sorcerer Joseph Curwen is his ancestor. Immersing himself in Curwen's papers and formulae, he eventually succeeds in physically resurrecting his forebear.
The reborn Curwen usurps Ward's appearance and life, leaving Ward to die wretchedly in an asylum. The full truth is uncovered by the tenacious Dr. Marinus Willett.