Latimer serves as both the first-person narrator and the central character of "The Lifted Veil." He begins the tale by revealing to the reader that it is set precisely one month before his impending death. "Before that time comes," he states, "I wish to use my last hours of ease and strength in telling the strange story of my experience." This narrative unfolds as the confession of a man nearing death, who shares his lifelong secrets in hopes of gaining the reader's empathy. He admits, "I have never fully unbosomed myself to any human being."

Latimer recounts his "strange story" through a flashback, starting from his childhood, when he discovered his so-called "superadded consciousness." As a frail, non-academic, and dreamy child, he was subjected to his father's insistence on studying subjects he detested, such as math and science. At 19, while recuperating from a prolonged illness, Latimer realizes he can foresee events before they happen. His first experience of this "clairvoyance" occurs just before meeting Bertha Grant, the woman soon to be engaged to his older brother, Alfred. After witnessing his vision come true in reality, Latimer is so overwhelmed by the sight of Bertha that he faints.

As Alfred's marriage to Bertha becomes increasingly certain, Latimer becomes intensely infatuated with her. Bertha appears to enjoy flirting and teasing Latimer while keeping an emotional distance. One day, Latimer envisions a scene from many years ahead, where Bertha, now his wife, coldly suggests that he should commit suicide. Despite this forewarning of a disastrous marriage, Latimer's desire for Bertha remains unwavering. When Alfred tragically falls from a horse and dies, Latimer finds himself free to marry Bertha.

As Latimer predicted, his marriage to Bertha quickly deteriorates into mutual hatred. Once her enigmatic allure fades, and Latimer sees her true nature as shallow, selfish, and spiteful, he loses all interest in her. Bertha, no longer the focus of Latimer's affection, seeks the company of other men and spends most of her time socializing away from home. Isolated from society, Latimer endures these years in solitude within his own house. With Bertha's mystery gone, his life loses meaning, and he lives in dread of the moment he foresaw, where she suggests he end his life. However, when this scene finally occurs years later, Latimer discovers it to be anticlimactic, just another in a series of cruel and distressing encounters with his wife.

When Bertha brings a new maid, Mrs. Archer, into the household, Latimer begins to feel that his ability to read the thoughts of others is fading. Additionally, it seems that Bertha and the new maid are secretly plotting something together. Over time, however, Latimer realizes that Bertha and the maid have grown to despise each other. Despite this, when the maid, who is an elderly woman, falls ill, Bertha diligently attends to her at her bedside.

One evening, Charles Meunier, an old friend from Latimer's grade school days whom he hasn't seen in many years, visits the household. As it becomes clear that the maid is nearing death, Meunier, a famous medical doctor, asks Latimer for permission to conduct an experiment on her body once she has passed. When the moment arrives, Meunier performs a blood transfusion into the recently deceased Mrs. Archer. Astonishingly, the corpse revives, opens its eyes, accuses Bertha with a pointed finger, and reveals that Bertha had hired her to poison Latimer. The corpse then collapses back into death.

After this shocking revelation, Latimer and Bertha part ways, with Bertha staying in England while Latimer travels across Europe. During these years, Latimer, increasingly unwell, is tormented by the knowledge of the details surrounding his own death. As he finishes writing the last pages of his story, Latimer resigns himself to "the scene of my dying struggle."