The Devil in the White City is divided into four parts, the first three happening in Chicago between 1890 and 1893, while part four of the book takes place in Philadelphia circa 1895. The book interweaves the true tales of Daniel Burnham, the architect behind the 1893 World's Fair, and H. H. Holmes, a serial killer who lured his victims to their deaths in his elaborately constructed "Murder Castle". The goal of this book is to talk about the 1893 Chicago Worlds fair and talk about both Burnham and Holmes and their experiences during the 1893 World's Fair. Burnham was the main architect and wanted this project to be a success to show America is capable of hosting a Worlds Fair. Burnham ran into many challenges when it came to the World's Fair including a fire, difficulty engineering the buildings to be safe, and a lack of funds for the fair. On the other hand, H.H. Holmes was responsibly for multiple murders of people who lived in Chicago or were involved in the World's fair. His "dungeon" was equipped with secret rooms, torture chambers, and he even had access to a big furnace to cremate the bodies of his victims. Holmes was known as a charming man who had the ability to seduce his victims. He mainly targeted women in the book.
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