Michael Bevan, book merchant extraordinaire, hopes to uncover hidden literary gold while at the Kansas City auction house. Though the ad mentioned rare erotica, Michael is amazed when a first edition novel by an infamous French author comes up for bid. He knows this one item alone could fetch a small fortune in the right market. As Michael and fellow merchant Gareth Hughes warm up to battle for the book, a stranger comes in and outbids them both-to the tune of sixty grand. Gareth, bitter and unwilling to leave the auction house empty-handed, steals two volumes, including the French novel. When he is found dead the next day, Michael becomes suspect number one. Now, Michael must find out who wanted the French book so badly that they would not only kill for it-but also frame him. Determined to stay out of police custody, he follows the murderer's trail into the wealthiest echelons of the city-where corruption is around every corner, and eroticism is perverted by pure evil. Unfortunately for Michael, one dead book dealer is only the opening chapter in a terrifying tale of aristocracy and miscreants.