Set in Paris and in the Provencal village of Seillans in the South of France, Stones follows bohemian sculptor Cornelius Valentine as he attempts to create his masterwork, but trouble awaits the young artist in Provence when a delusional artisan in the village mistakes him for her former lover, famous Dada artist Max Ernst, and undertakes to slowly poison him for revenge. The novel is about art, love, intrigue and magic, and what happens when one fails in both art and love.