A bestselling European psychological thriller set around the Italian lakes Gabriel Tretjak is a fixer, hired by rich clients to fix their lives, to change fate on their behalf. He does so without moral limitations or scruples. His methods draw on experimental psychology and the latest research into the human brain. His fees are high, but his clients are always willing to pay. No matter how desperate their situation, they want a happy ending. But happy for whom? Soon the body of a famous brain surgeon is discovered in a horsebox: a murder made all the more gruesome by the fact that the victim's eyes have been removed by something resembling an ice-cream scoop. The surgeon is the first victim of a murderer who leaves tantalising clues behind, all pointing to Tretjak. While Tretjak tries to stay in control, a feeling begins to take hold, a feeling that he normally uses to his advantage when working on behalf of a client. That feeling is fear. It slowly dawns on him - and soon the police - that these murders are all linked to his past. The one thing he cannot fix.