A number of baffling cases confront the renowned Vidocq, chief of the famed Surete Nationale, and his loyal staff of reformed criminals that hot summer of 1823. There is the murder of the famous Parisian jeweler, and the murder of Maya, the Spanish whore, shot with the same gun -- and systematic looting of treasures from the great chateaux by The Black Devil, and more. With a heady, rich nineteenth century atmosphere, this mystery is a keeper!