A circle of children shake agony from the bones of a bird. A soul-bending African ritual obliterates the mind of a U.N. Peacekeeper. High art meets low morals in this macabre tale of deceit, manipulation, and human indignity.When his father dies, David Prior is stripped of the bedrock upon which his moral foundation is built, and he is left exposed to influences both benign and evil. On his right shoulder, the angel of family; David's mother and sister provide what strength they can, and the possibility of retaining his sanity. On his left, a devil resurrected from childhood; Victor Tournhomme is playing a far more serious game than David could ever have imagined.David retreats to the family farm seeking solitude, and it is here, among the out buildings and snowed-in woods, that the specters of the past begin to crowd his mind. As David grapples with the brooding aftermath of childhood atrocities, Victor Tournhomme sets the wheels of his psychosis in motion.Victor, like David, earns his living as a photographer, but when work ends for the day, Victor truly comes out to play. Capitalizing on David's vulnerability, Victor forwards a proposition which pits all of David's angels and devils against one another in a titanic ethical struggle, the outcome of which will reveal the depth of both men's resolve.The madness accelerates as a mentally ill rapist, Victor's violently unstable brother, and the unfortunate figure known in adolescence simply as Tomb, in turn play their roles. When every piece is in place, and all of the players deemed ready, Victor plays his hand.Believing himself prepared for the events to follow, David agrees to meet with Victor at the farm, but could never have anticipated Victor's true intentions. Face to face with death itself, only an eleventh hour turn of events can spare David the hell that has been meticulously crafted for him alone.