Police Inspector Nikolai Faroun is caught up in a complex murder investigation of the beautiful and controversial Vera Tamiri. He suspects that she may have fallen victim to a gruesome crime of passion. However, he soon realises that there is more to this crime than a jealous lover. In a city seething with anger and revolt, Inspector Faroun begins unraveling a conspiracy from Syria's troubled past, a secret that Vera may have uncovered - at the cost of her life. As the elements of a sinister and elusive crime bubble to the surface, Nikolai must be careful not to bring to light secrets of his own. All games, in the end, must be played against the dark backdrop of a city which has been the centre of Middle Eastern intrigue for millennia, the stony ground where Cain slew Abel, where Saladin once ruled, and where Nikolai must discover the key to the murder of a courageous woman who dared disturb the ancient order.