When the first member of the staff at a Turkish excavation is murdered and a mosaic floor disappears from her site overnight, archaeologist Tamar Saticoy plunges into the shady side of the antiquities trade in a quest to discover who is responsible for the theft of important artifacts. Tamar traces the mosaic floor to Basel, Switzerland, where the captivating prince of antiquities dealers, Gilberto Dela Barcolo, and his enigmatic friend, Enzio Egidio, are active. Are the two men harmless charmers - or villains? Soon Tamar finds herself enmeshed in a tangle of deceit, theft, and forgery. Battling smoke and mirrors, she discovers that no one is who he seems. Two more members of the excavation staff are killed: her venal British colleague Chatham, who has discovered a hoard of Thracian gold in Bulgaria, and the Turk Orman who - like Tamar - is following the trail of the stolen mosaic. Unless she can crack this case, Tamar herself may become the next target for murder.