Francis Cornish was always good at keeping secrets. From the well-hidden family secret of his childhood to his mysterious encounters with a small-town embalmer, a master art restorer, a Bavarian countess, and various masters of espionage, the events in Francis's life were not always what they seemed. In this wonderfully ingenious portrait of an art expert and collector of international renown, Robertson Davies has created a spellbinding tale of artistic triumph and heroic deceit. It is a tale told in stylish, elegant prose, endowed with lavish portions of Davies's wit and wisdom.

"Robertson Davies is the sort of novelist readers can hardly wait to tell their friends about...a world of wonders...laced with marvels and subterfuge." - Washington Post Book World

"This is literary sleuthwork at its most inspired - scholarly enough for a purist and radiating a rare degree of human sympathy." - Newsweek