The book is an explicit and controversial work that explores themes of sexual perversion and cruelty. The narrative follows four wealthy, libertine men who lock themselves in a remote castle with a harem of 46 victims, including men, women, and children. Over the course of 120 days, they engage in a series of escalating debaucheries, meticulously documented by the men. The story is a study of the darkest corners of human nature, presenting an unflinching and graphic portrayal of sexual violence.

The novel follows the life of a dispossessed, violent man living on the fringes of society in the mountains of Tennessee in the 1960s. After being expelled from his community, the protagonist descends into a primitive state of existence, seeking shelter in caves and gradually surrendering to his most base and animalistic instincts. His isolation and alienation lead him to commit a series of heinous acts, including necrophilia and murder, as he becomes increasingly detached from humanity. The narrative explores themes of loneliness, depravity, and the human capacity for evil, painting a bleak and harrowing portrait of a person utterly cast out from social norms and moral grounding.