Elizabeth McDermitt is thrilled to be a finalist for the famous Radovsky Prize, a Viennese competition featuring the best young pianists in the world. But the situation quickly becomes sinister when two young pianists are injured and unable to continue. And there are reports of strange, perhaps even supernatural events that keep everyone on edge. Finally, there is the suicide of one of the pianist's teachers, a suicide that turns out to be a murder.

Elizabeth's friend, David Currant, discovers that the source of these problems may be a mysterious 19th century musical manuscript by the legendary Franz Liszt, which had belonged to one of Liszt's students, an equally mysterious Count Sebastian. But there's a real question whether David can unravel the mystery in time to save the festival and Elizabeth herself.