Ashley, elegant yet haunted...Toni, sultry as well as vivacious...Alette, lovely and totally without conceit...three beautiful young women suspected of committing a series of horrifying murders. Now one of the most bizarre murder trials of the century is about to begin-and reveal an astounding, startling piece of medical evidence almost impossible to believe. Sweeping from London to Rome, from Quebec to San Francisco, this tale from the world's reigning master storyteller is so much more than a mystery: It is a searching, riveting, and, finally, triumphant foray into the dark, wild depths of the human heart. "

Ashley, elegant yet haunted...Toni, sultry as well as vivacious...Alette, lovely and totally without conceit...three beautiful young women suspected of committing a series of horrifying murders. Now one of the most bizarre murder trials of the century is about to begin-and reveal an astounding, startling piece of medical evidence almost impossible to believe. Sweeping from London to Rome, from Quebec to San Francisco, this tale from the world's reigning master storyteller is so much more than a mystery: It is a searching, riveting, and, finally, triumphant foray into the dark, wild depths of the human heart. "

BOOK ONE

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

BOOK TWO

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Author's Note