The Bentheims of Berlin take in Till Ansch�tz, an orphan on the run, who quickly befriends twelve-year-old Max. The boys are intrigued by the office where Max�s cold, distant father, Xavier Bentheim, writes his horror novels. And when they get up the nerve to explore, Max and Till are truly horrified by what they discover behind a hidden door.
�Till awakens strapped to a gurney. His belly is burning, and
a young woman with dead eyes flicks her forked tongue against his face. �We�ve modified you � you�ll like it,� a familiar voice purrs�
�Inspector Konstantin Butz discovers the mutilated corpse of a woman; beside her lies a power drill freshly wrenched from her stomach. This latest in a series of connected murders launches Butz on an obsessive search for the killer, but the key could lie hidden with his own girlfriend�Claire Bentheim.