The following version of the book was used to create this guide: O'Donnell, Paraic. The Maker of Swans. Tin House, 2022.

While The Maker of Swans is written in past and present tense, the guide predominantly relies on the present tense for purpose of clarity. Paraic O’Donnell’s third person limited narrative follows the lives of Clara and Eustace as they attempt to thwart Dr. Chastern’s attempt to control the muse. At the outset of the novel, Eustace is awoken by gunfire in the driveway. He finds his employer, Mr. Crowe, with a young woman, Arabella, standing over the dead body of a stranger. Mr. Crowe is undisturbed by the dead body and ushers Arabella instead with little tolerance for Eustace’s concerns. The next day, Clara sees the pistols on Eustace’s nightstand and is afeared that something is awry. Despite her misgivings, she goes about her day writing, visiting the baby swans, and exploring the vast estate. Later on, Clara speaks with her reflection who steps out of the mirror and tells her that she can create swans. At the lake, the other Clara forms a swan that look perfect but is attacked by the rest of the flock. Clara dives into the water and makes the swan indistinguishable from the others.

Meanwhile, Eustace prepares for the arrival of guests, who will inevitably descend upon the manor because of the poet’s death. He employs the help of Abel and John Crouch to dispose of the body and protect Mr. Crowe and Clara from potential harm. Eustace warns Clara that she must behave in a socially normally manner during the visit, as not to arouse suspicions that she possesses abnormal creative talents. When the guests arrive, Clara watches them from her perch on the tower. The rain soaks through her party dress and she runs down to the laundry to dry the garment before she has to meet the visitors. While in the laundry, Clara sees Arabella and the chauffeur arguing and suspects that there are more nefarious intentions at play than even Eustace is aware of.

After the tense dinner, Arabella asks Clara to accompany her to the library. Clara complies but is gripped by an overwhelming sense of fear and runs toward the tower. Despite her effort to escape, Nazaire abducts Clara and kills John who attempts to thwart the kidnapping. Later, Clara wakes up in a small white room with an injured armed. Nazaire enters and offers measured words of condolence. When her captor, Dr. Chastern, visits, he explains that Mr. Crowe is not an ordinary writer, he is a muse who visits other artists and endows them with the inspiration that fosters creative work. As Clara practices writing with her left hand, she discovers that she possesses the same artistic capacitates as her former guardian and makes the roses in the frost bitten garden bloom.

After Nazaire takes her writing implements, Clara begins secretly scratching her words into the bricks beneath her bed. Through her clandestine art, Clara inflicts Nazaire with a fatal illness and is able to escape her captors. After reuniting with Eustace, Clara and the butler return to Mr. Crowe’s manor. They confront Dr. Chastern and Arabella, but Mr. Crowe asks that the professor read his new manuscript before Abel kills him. While they are in the library alone, Dr. Crowe sets the room on fire. Arabella flees the manor, but Clara pursues her to the Windbones. As the soprano stoops to fix her shoe, she is attacked by the swans and dragged under water.