When a deceased artist, with an estate of almost incalculable worth, means heirs at war, who will heal the rifts? There will be advisors aplenty, but can they bring peace to the warring factions? The estate of renowned artist, Gustave Post, is in the hands of the Collarii Foundation, which administers it to protect his life’s work. The heirs are fractious and unreliable. When an important but unknown Post appears for sale, it is suspected that one is trying to sell it anonymously, in contravention of their obligations to the foundation. The foundation asks Corey Templeton, the expert in Post’s work, to undertake a clandestine investigation to identify the owner.

Templeton uses his assistant, Waverley Smith, to get close to more bloody-minded heirs. Shiningly attractive, she is both a boon and a liability. Templeton soon finds himself entangled in her unscrupulous methods. As the investigation proceeds and the secrets of the past are uncovered, damaging discoveries are made about the actions of Post nearly four decades before. A tale that affirms the myth of the demonic artist genius is any biographer’s dream, not least Post’s! Can the foundation keep control of Post’s reputation, and maintain his blue-chip status? And can Templeton keep his equilibrium as, on all sides, emotions run high?