A modern woman from South Korea, exhausted and miserable in her real life, wakes up one day trapped inside the body of Eris Miserian. She has been pulled into a romance novel she only vaguely skimmed, inhabiting the role of the villainess who is destined to go mad with jealousy, fail to poison the heroine Helena, and be executed. Her only desire is to return to her own world, and the only method she can think of is to die in this fictional one. However, the world operates under a "Principle of Causality" that forces the narrative back on track, making every attempt at suicide fail or result in her waking up again unharmed. The story forces her to realize that the only death that will stick is the one already written for her: execution at the story's end.

Eris is a deeply pragmatic and desperate protagonist who rejects the romantic fantasy of her new life, unlike many isekai heroines. She does not want to adapt, change the plot to survive, or fall in love with the male leads; she simply wants to go home. Her family in the real world, neglectful as they were, represents a reality she wishes to return to. The main antagonist of her quest is the narrative itself, which forces her to act as the villainess. The original male leads—the obsessive Crown Prince Alecto, the cold knight Jason, and the fanatical High Priest Hubris—are not love interests but obstacles, as their fixation on the heroine Helena fuels their cruelty toward Eris. The only person who offers genuine kindness is a lowly knight, Anakhin, who serves her loyally despite her status and eventual sentence. Eris also allies with Medea, a powerful witch who has her own hidden agenda regarding the nature of their reality.

The heroine, Helena, is not a rival but a fellow victim. Through her interactions, Eris comes to see Helena as a real person trapped by the same patriarchal and classist systems, meek and powerless unlike the bold villainess. In a development that undermines Eris's own survival goals, she extends genuine help to Helena out of solidarity. The narrative explores heavy themes of agency, as Eris's single-minded pursuit of death is paradoxically the only way she can reclaim control over her existence. Her journey involves navigating the empire's corrupt nobility, her own abusive family, and the escalating obsession of the male leads, culminating in a traumatic event where Alecto attempts to assault her on imperial orders. This breaks her spirit temporarily but strengthens her resolve to escape no matter what.

Eris succeeds in her plan to be executed, but not before ensuring Anakhin burns her body to prevent any magical resurrection. She finally returns to South Korea. The story concludes with an epilogue showing Anakhin, having lived a long life, dying of old age and being reincarnated in the modern world, where he reunites with Eris as a stranger on a street. Their eyes meet, implying a new beginning free from the tragic narrative they escaped.