Murderer Edward Fosca is a bad guy. Mariana feels confident about this. But, Fosca is unreachable. Attractive and charming Greek tragedy professor Fosca is well-liked by both staff and students at Cambridge University, especially among the women who belong to a covert organization called The Maidens.

The death of one of The Maidens, a friend of Mariana's niece Zoe, in Cambridge causes group therapist Mariana Andros, a smart but disturbed individual, to become fascinated with the group.

Mariana, who was once a student at the institution, rapidly gets the sneaking suspicion that something dark lurks behind the bucolic splendor of the spires and turrets, as well as beneath the age-old traditions. And she starts to believe that Edward Fosca is responsible for the murder despite having a plausible excuse. Yet, why would the professor pick on one of his pupils? And why does he continually bringing up the virgin Persephone's rituals and her trip to the underworld?

Mariana's preoccupation with establishing Fosca's guilt gets out of control when a second corpse is discovered, endangering both her reputation and her closest connections. Mariana, however, is determined to bring this murderer to justice, at any cost, including the cost of her own life.