Anne Rice returns to the mesmerizing storytelling that has captivated readers for more than three decades in a tale of unceasing suspense set in time past--a metaphysical thriller about angels and assassins.The novel opens in the present. At its center: Toby O'Dare--a contract killer of underground fame on assignment to kill once again. A soulless soul, a dead man walking, he lives under a series of aliases--just now: Lucky the Fox--and takes his orders from "The Right Man."Into O'Dare's nightmarish world of lone and lethal missions comes a mysterious stranger, a seraph, who offers him a chance to save rather than destroy lives. O'Dare, who long ago dreamt of being a priest but instead came to embody danger and violence, seizes his chance. Now he is carried back through the ages to thirteenth-century England, to dark realms where accusations of ritual murder have been made against Jews, where children suddenly die or disappear... In this primitive setting, O'Dare begins his perilous quest for salvation, a journey of danger and flight, loyalty and betrayal, selflessness and love.From the Hardcover edition.