Defence attorney Robert Stern can scarcely believe his eyes when he meets with the mysterious client who has summoned him to a godforsaken industrial park. To his astonishment, the defendant is a ten-year-old boy, a fragile child with a chronic illness who insists that he was a murderer in a former life. Robert Stern's surprise turns into horror when he searches the cellar described by Simon and finds a human skeleton whose skull has been split by an axe. But this is only the beginning. Simon tells him of other victims whose bodies have lain undiscovered for years. Suddenly, the present becomes murderously dangerous as well...

Propelled to the head of the W Group after the death of his adoptive father, Largo Winch decides, to everyone's surprise, to sell it, and use the proceeds to create an ambitious humanitarian foundation. But on the very same day, he finds himself accused of crimes against humanity by a mysterious witness. To prove his innocence, Largo will have to retrace the steps of his past life, in the heart of the Burmese jungle...