At the old family manse in Louisiana, Special Agent Pendergast is putting to rest long-ignored possessions reminiscent of his wife Helen's tragic death, only to make a stunning-and dreadful-discovery. Helen had been mauled by an unusually large and vicious lion while they were big game hunting in Africa. But now, Pendergast learns that her rifle - her only protection from the beast - had been deliberately loaded with blanks. Who could have wanted Helen dead...and why? With Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta's assistance, Pendergast embarks on a quest to uncover the mystery of his wife's murder. As Pendergast probes more deeply into the riddle - the answer to which is revealed in a night of shocking violence, deep in the Louisiana bayou - he finds himself faced with an even greater question: who was the woman he married?

Douglas Preston has worked for the American Museum of Natural History. With his frequent collaborator Lincoln Child, he has authored such bestselling thrillers as Brimstone, The Cabinet of Curiosities, The Ice Limit, Thunderhead, Riptide, Reliquary, Mount Dragon, and Relic. His latest solo novel is Blasphemy.