Detective Aloysius Pendergast, whom everyone believes to be dead - even his brother Diogenes and his protégée, Constance - is in fact alive, and is looking for Constance who, devastated by Aloysius' death, seeks refuge in the chambers of her family mansion, from where she is kidnapped, despite Proctor's efforts to prevent it.
Thus begins this story, which develops while maintaining the excitement and suspense. It resorts to implausible situations: in this plot everything is possible, for example, a macabre elixir that prolongs life works or that the end justifies the means and is considered correct. Sometimes, without insisting, there are some sensual scenes. The novel is entertaining and lets fantasy imagine unusual places. Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston are American thriller writers; they have written several successful novels with their fictional character Aloysius Pendergast as the protagonist.