First published in 1927, The Demon Lover's story begins with a secret society of mystics in London who magically communicate over long distances with other occultists; This is how we learn that the society's magic is at work, that it is part of an international group, and that it is plotting to gain political power at the urging of one member, a man named Lucas. We also see that most of society is against Lucas and his plots. This leads Lucas to hatch his own scheme after the meeting is over: find an unsuspecting but psychically gifted person to serve him as a medium, and through the enchanted medium, spy on other members of society to gain more mystical knowledge.