But behind the smiling pageantry lurks a much more sinister force. For several people are not who they appear - Arthur is no longer the true Lord Montfoy, having sold his birthright years earlier; the villagers have ulterior motives for dressing up as creatures of folklore; and, most disturbing of all, the real Lord Montfoy -- who has been living abroad under the name Thomas Entwhistle -- turns out to be none other than Pyotr Gregorin, a prominent member of the Tsar's secret service and now Didier's uncle by marriage. A man who has sworn many times to murder him ...
