Detective Robicheaux first met Desmond Cormier in New Orleans, when the young, undersized boy had foolish dreams of becoming a Hollywood director. Twenty-five years later, Robicheaux has discovered the body of a young woman who's been crucified near Cormier's Cyrpemort Point estate. Neither Cormier nor his enigmatic actor friend Antoine Butterworth are saying much, but Robicheaux knows better.