Two 19th century stage illusionists the aristocratic Rupert Angier & the working-class Alfred Borden engage in a bitter & deadly feud; the effects are still being felt by their respective families a hundred years later. Working in the gaslight-&-velvet world of Victorian music halls they prowl edgily in the background of each others shadowy life driven to the extremes by a deadly combination of obsessive secrecy & insatiable curiosity. At the heart of the row is an amazing illusion they both perform during their stage acts. The secret of the magic is simple & the reader is in on it almost from the start but to the antagonists the real mystery lies deeper. Both have something more to hide than the mere workings of a trick.