A curse bides its time. Murder awaits discovery. English detective and Bologna resident Daniel Leicester has been summoned by a dying relative to the wildest corner of Puglia home to revered saints fearsome mafia clans hidden catacombs and sinister ceremonies. As Daniel discovers that his Italian family's history runs deep in the veins of Puglia old grudges resurface and life is breathed into ancient superstitions. He is enchanted by the mysteries of the region and joins a search for stolen antiquities but when a contact is gruesomely murdered by mobsters it's clear that mafia rule is more powerful than local mysticism. Lured by magic but trapped by the mob Daniel finds himself unable to return to his beloved Bologna. His family is bound to Puglia more tightly than he ever imagined and powerful people want answers he can't give. And when Daniel's daughter is snatched during a Holy Week procession he sees first-hand just how far they're prepared to go . . .
