The novel is set in London in 1895. Satan walks among people in search of another plaything he can amuse himself with, in order to show God that he can corrupt anyone. He wants to find someone worthy who will be able to resist temptation, but all around reign unbelief, corruption, and venality.

Geoffrey Tempest, a young impoverished writer, barely makes ends meet and is unsuccessfully trying to sell his novel. Once again, when he is pondering his desperate position, he notices three letters on the table. The first — from a friend in Australia who has grown rich on gold mining — informs him that he is sending a friend to Geoffrey who will help him escape poverty. The second is a note from a solicitor detailing how he has inherited a fortune from a deceased relative. The third is a letter of recommendation from Prince Lucio Rimanez, 'the deliverer from poverty', about whom the friend from Australia had written. Will Geoffrey manage to make the right choice, to preserve his talent and his soul?..

'The Sorrows of Satan' is a mystical decadent novel by the English writer Marie Corelli, published in 1895, which became the biggest bestseller in the history of Victorian England.