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&#8212;a metaphysical thriller about angels and assassins.<br><br>The novel opens in the present. At its center: Toby O&#8217;Dare&#8212;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&#8212;just now: Lucky the Fox&#8212;and takes his orders from &#8220;The Right Man.&#8221;<br><br>Into O&#8217;Dare&#8217;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&#8217;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&#8217;Dare begins his perilous quest for salvation, a journey of danger and flight, loyalty and betrayal, selflessness and love.<br><br><br><i>From the Hardcover edition.</i>