Nineteenth-century Europe abounds with conspiracies both ghastly and mysterious. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian priests are strangled with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate black masses by night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots and massacres. But what if, behind all of this, lay just one man? Eco's biggest novel since THE NAME OF THE ROSE is a thrilling tale of murder and intrigue.