Alec chambers is in a quandry - his bookstore had been broken into, his storekeeper killed, and everything points to the man behind the mayhem being one of his best customers, mr. mathers. but when a very special journal is stolen from his own home, he finds himself in a race across europe with mathers and his golden dawn compatriots. but how are they to find the answer to the strange cypher code that is their only clue, and what is the identity of the mysterious red-haired woman? like the very finest dan brown story, only set in the age of queen victoria, our intrepid hero finds himself pitting his wit and wisdom against mathers, crowley and an assortment of unsavory characters, in a race against the clock to thwart a devilish plan hatched by none other than the infamous illuminati!