Frank Cotton is a hedonist who has spent his life in a selfish, single-minded pursuit of the ultimate sensual experience. Having lived a life of world travel, engaging in countless crimes and every sexual experience known to mankind, Frank is now a nihilist, his pursuits having left him feeling unfulfilled and still wanting more extreme experiences. Jaded to the point that conventional sexual activity now leaves him completely unstimulated, Frank hears rumours of the Lament Configuration, a puzzle box that is said to act as a portal to an extradimensional realm of unfathomable carnal pleasure. Locating the owner in Dusseldorf, Frank obtains the box by performing "small favors" and returns with it to his deceased grandmother's home in England. Frank prepares a shrine consisting of bonbons, flowers, severed doves' heads, and a massive jug of his own urine, offerings for the box's inhabitants: The Cenobites, members of a religious order dedicated to extreme sensual experiences."