A man will do anything if he is desperate enough.

Following his disastrous attribution of a forgery to Rubens, famous art expert Matthew Pierce's only chance of redemption is to help the dangerous Lord Marr purchase a reputedly cursed fresco for his sickening collection of the macabre. As Matthew and his wife Victoria are dragged into an underground world of gruesome murders and the profane, their only hope of salvation lies in uncovering the truth of the cursed fresco.

Is it a genuine work by the master Giotto? Is it truly cursed? Is there a link with secret C.I.A experiments on people's minds? And how could Dante's Inferno link Giotto and Pope Boniface in the creation of a cursed work of art?

Matthew's rationalist mind is tested to the point of insanity as he wrestles with these questions.