Drood

In the wake of the devastating Staplehurst rail disaster of 1865, Charles Dickens, the world's most celebrated author, emerges a hero but is irrevocably changed. Haunted by a spectral figure he dubs 'Drood'—whom he believes orchestrated the carnage—Dickens descends into an obsessive quest for vengeance. He enlists his friend and literary colleague, Wilkie Collins, to aid in the pursuit. Their investigation plunges them into the labyrinthine depths of Undertown, the shadowy, lawless network of crypts and catacombs beneath Victorian London, where Drood is rumored to command a legion of fanatical followers. As Collins himself spirals into the throes of opium addiction and increasingly bitter jealousy of Dickens's success, he is forced to confront a terrifying question: Is Dickens truly battling a supernatural entity, or has his mind fractured, making him capable of unspeakable acts himself? This historical thriller blurs the lines between reality and delusion, genius and madness.