V detstve Gumbert Gumbert perezhil vzaimnuyu, no neveroyatno boleznennuyu vlyublennost v devochku Anabel Li. Roditelyam v kontse kontsov prishlos ih razluchit, i Anabel v skorom vremeni umerla. Eto sobytie, po mneniyu samogo Gumberta, stalo prichinoy, po kotoroy on ispytyvaet strast k nesovershennoletnim devochkam, kotoryh nazyvaet "nimfetkami".
1947 god. Tridtsatisemiletniy prepodavatel frantsuzskoy literatury Gumbert Gumbert snimaet dom na severo-vostoke SSHA, v Novoy Anglii. U hozyayki doma SHarlotty Geyz est dvenadtsatiletnyaya doch Dolores, kotoruyu Gumbert laskovo nazyvaet Lolitoy. Vspyhnuvshaya v Gumberte strast zastavlyaet ego iskat lyuboy predlog, chtoby okazatsya naedine s Lolitoy. Tak nachinaetsya istoriya, kotoraya izmenit literaturu XX veka.
Roman byl ekranizirovan dvazhdy: v 1962 godu Stenli Kubrikom s Dzheymsom Meysonom, SHelli Uinters i Syu Layon v glavnyh rolyah i v 1997 godu Edrianom Laynom s Dzheremi Ayronsom, Dominik Sueyn i Melani Griffit.
