It is 1868, and Spain teeters on the brink of revolution. Don Jaime de Astarola is Spain's greatest fencing master— a man of honor, an anachronism— priding himself on the precision and dignity of his ancient art, and the perfector of the deadly unstoppable sword thrust technique. His friends spend their days in cafes discussing plots at court, but Jaime lives an ordered and celibate life dedicated to one passion: the art of fencing— until the beautiful and mysterious Adela de Otero destabilizes his tranquil existence, and he finds himself embroiled in a plot of seduction, dark politics, secret documents— and murder.