on the Continent, Crawford is called upon to assist another Englishman who is suffering from a seizure. The man is Percy Shelley, and is accompanied by Lord Byron, John Polidori, and Claire Clarmont. Byron and Shelley are also connected to the nephilim, which they see as both a blessing and a curse. The nephilim can prolong the lives of humans and serve as muses who help to inspire great works of creativity, but they are extremely jealous and will destroy anyone they see as a rival. Crawford and the two poets make their way up the Jungfrau, where it is said one might be able to break the bond with a nephilim. After answering a version of the Riddle of the Sphinx Crawford manages to free himself from his "wife". In doing so he also learns more about the nature of the nephilim. Yet the danger is not over for Crawford, the poets, and their loved ones. The nephilim are still active, and developments in Venice may threaten all humanity. Crawford, Josephine, Shelley, and Byron, all haunted by personal tragedy, must find a way to save themselves and the rest of the world from the nephilim. Real people Real people figuring in the novel include: George Gordon, Lord Byron and his involvement in the Carbonari Percy Bysshe Shelley Mary Shelley, her novel Frankenstein, and her stepsister Claire Clairmont John Keats and his poem "Lamia" John Polidori (Powers does not mention his influential story "The Vampyre") Leigh Hunt François Villon References Novels by Tim Powers American fantasy novels 1989 American novels Ace Books books Cultural depictions of Lord Byron