Lili is a modern incarnation of the demi-demon of Caribbean folklore, also known as La Diablesse. According to folklore, she was an enslaved African woman who made a deal with Le Diable (the Devil) to give her soul to him, becoming a demi-demon, in exchange for eternal beauty and magic power. She is the spirit of urban debauchery, enthralling ordinary mortals with her power and erotic wiles, and under her influence she takes them on a sexually charged spree around New York City, goading them into acts of petty crime, sexual deviance, and submission.