The following version of this novel was used in the creation of this study guide: Gong, Chloe. These Violent Delights. Margaret K. McElderly Books. 2020. First Edition. Hardback.

The novel starts in Shanghai near the Huangpu River where a monster rises, forcing a few men from the rival gangs to kill themselves. Meanwhile, in the burlesque club owned by the Scarlet Gang, Juliette Cai rejects Walter Dexter’s offer to buy lernicrom. Roma Montagov arrives and warns Juliette about the deaths just before a man rips his own throat out. Juliette sends Roma away and he is asked by his father to investigate what happened. Roma and his best friends Marshall and Benedikt find strange insects where the men killed themselves and take them to a scientist named Lourens. He discovers that the insects are all linked, but believes they are not organically made.

Later, Juliette and Roma meet again and Roma convinces her to take him to the morgue so he confirms if the man from the club is the same one from the pier. Once inside, many members of the Scarlet Gang begin ripping their throats out and the two are forced to flee. Meanwhile, Benedikt and Marshall find a dead man with insects attached to his brain.

Juliette then confronts a brothel owner named Madame who tells her that the Communists believe that their leader, Zhang Gutai, is responsible for the monster and the madness. Juliette’s cousin Kathleen goes to find his address while Juliette tries to talk to him at work. She runs into Roma again and both are unsuccessful in their conversation with Zhang Gutai.

A few days later, Juliette attends a masquerade ball with her father, Lord Cai, and runs into Walter’s son, Paul, who is clearly infatuated with her. Roma then warns her that the madness is contagious as more people kill themselves. Juliette promises Roma that she will get a meeting between the Scarlet Gang and the White Flowers. However, this quickly descends into chaos when Juliette’s cousin, Tyler, pulls a gun on Benedikt. Roma’s sister, Alisa, tries to tear her throat out but is knocked out by Marshall and taken to a doctor. Roma becomes desperate to save her and asks Juliette to help. Wanting to save her own people, she agrees.

The next day, the two go to Zhang Gutai’s house and meet his assistant, Qi Ren. Juliette finds a letter from someone called the Larkspur, the rumored holder of the vaccine for the madness. After Kathleen gains some information on Zhang Gutai, Juliette meets Roma at Great World, but the two are forced to run when they are pursued by British men. Juliette kills two of them after learning that the Larkspur sent the men. They go to his supposed place of business and find a woman injecting vaccines into patients. Roma steals one of the vials and takes Juliette to Lourens. There, Juliette steals a serum that is meant to knock someone unconscious and make them look dead for a few hours. Lourens then tells her that the vaccine is made of lernicrom which Walter is supplying.

Eventually, Juliette goes to Paul and learns that the Larkspur is using a delivery man named Archibald Welch. She meets with Roma again and the two find Archibald at a place called Mantua. He answers all of their questions, revealing the location of the Larkspur and the fact that he creates both a vaccine and a fake saline solution. When the police arrive, Juliette and Roma hide upstairs and end up kissing each other but Juliette feels he is lying to her.

Later, Juliette wanders through White Flower territory when Roma confronts her. She demands to know the truth. He reveals that he staged an attack on the Scarlet Gang’s servant quarters because his father threatened to kill Juliet. Then, they go to the Larkspur and learn that Zhang Gutai is the monster. When they plan to take him out, Tyler sees them together.

After recruiting their friends, Juliette and Roma invade Zhang Gutai’s workplace and kill him. This, however, does not stop the madness and Juliette realizes he was not the monster. Benedikt deduces that it is actually his assistant Qi Ren. They go to Zhang Gutai’s house and find Paul who gives Juliette the vaccine before admitting that he is the Larkspur. Qi Ren transforms into the monster and heads toward the river to release more insects. Juliette and Roma follow him, but Roma is attacked by the insects. Juliette overpowers Paul and kills him before defeating Qi Ren, destroying the insects.

However, when the two go to the hospital to see Alisa, they find Tyler with a gun to her forehead. In order to save Alisa, Roma, and the others, Juliette shoots Marshall. It is later revealed that he actually stole the serum from her and pretended to die so that she could convince Tyler that she was on his side. After meeting with Marshall at a safe house, Juliette learns that Paul planned to release more insects upon his death and hears screams from the rest of the city.