In a nail-biting hunt for a missing loved one, DI Edgar Stephens and
the magician Max Mephisto discover once again that the line between art,
life, and death is all too easily blurred.
It's the holiday season, and Max Mephisto and his daughter Ruby have
landed a headlining gig at the Brighton Hippodrome, the biggest theater
in the city, an achievement only slightly marred by the less-than-savory
supporting act: a tableau show of naked "living statues." But when one
of the girls goes missing and turns up dead not long after, Max and Ruby
realize there's something far more sinister than obscenity afoot in the
theater.
DI Edgar Stephens is on the case. As he searches for the killer, he
begins to suspect that her fatal vanishing act may well be related to
another case, the death of a quiet local florist. But just as he's
narrowing in on the missing link, Ruby goes missing, and he and Max must
team up once again to find her.