Friendless, loveless, aimless, Lucien "Lucy" Minor is a weakling and a liar, the odd duck in the hamlet of Bury, famous for producing brutish giants. When Lucy finds a position assisting the Majordomo of a foreboding castle, he soon discovers it harbors many dark secrets, not least of which is the whereabouts of its master, Baron Von Aux. Along the way, Lucy encounters thieves, madmen, aristocrats, and Klara, a delicate beauty whose love he must compete for, in an epic tale of theft, heartbreak, mystery, and cold-blooded murder—the follow-up to Patrick deWitt's Man Booker Prize finalist The Sisters Brothers.

"The tale shifts, subtly, from Tolkien to Stoker with a dash of Conan Doyle, but with plenty of humorous touches."—Kirkus Reviews