Michael Hrubeck, a twenty-eight-year-old man with childlike yearnings, escapes from a hospital for the criminally insane and sets out to find the man who framed him for murder.

"Well-used to elevated emotions, psychologist Alex Delaware shrugs off a joking death threat from beautiful Beverly Hills physician Constance Sykes, whose attempt to secure legal custody of her baby niece is thwarted by Alex's forthright report to the court. Alex plays down the threat until LAPD's Milo Sturgis rushes to his side with the shocking word on the street that a hit's been taken out on him. But while Alex may be in grave danger, it won't...

Dr. Alex Delaware and his friend and partner Detective Sturgis must penetrate the mind of a psychotic prisoner in order to stop a series of brutal slayings.

A renowned psycholinguist delves into the confession of a once-dear friend, a rare book collector who is incarcerated in a mental institution for killing his fiancée, told to him in bits of novels, fables, and historical allusions.

"A crime thriller set in Rome, as two detectives hunt down a bizarre killer who believes she is already dead"--