Author Description

In the year 1886 a newspaper in Massachusetts publishes a damaging story about a prominent industrialist who is a candidate for the U.S. Senate, and he sues the paper for libel. As a lawyer and a private investigator begin to look into case, they discover, with surprise and perplexity, that the charges against the candidate are alleged to have a supernatural origin. Their investigation soon becomes enmeshed not only in legal maneuvering but also in the ambiguities of spiritualism, both of which ultimately converge in a climactic trial.