Witness the scene. In a Parisian restaurant Aleister Crowley, the notorious occultist, chances on Major-General Sir Hector Mc Donald: once one of the greatest heroes of the British Empire, now facing ruin in a shocking scandal -- & vulnerable to Crowley`s curious offer of help. Follow this unlikely pair on an extraordinary night of revelation & transgression. Be transported to the battlefields of Sudan, the backstreets of Edinburgh & the sultry tropics of Ceylon. & discover Sir Hector`s tragic secret. In this enthralling tale of imperialism, sexuality & the nature of belief, Jake Arnott probes beneath the surface of Victorian conformity & captures a world trembling on the brink of a brutal new era.