Why was an elegant lady brutally murdered the night before 9/11? Why was a successful New York banker not surprised to receive a woman's left ear in the mail? Why did a young woman with a brilliant career steal an impressionaist painting? Why was an honors graduate working as a temporary secretary after inheriting a fortune? Why was a senior FBI agent trying to work out the connection between these four apparently innocent individuals? A breathtaking journey of twists and turns from New York to London, from Bucharest and on to Tokyo ends up in a sleepy English village where the mystery surrounding Van Gogh's last painting will finally be resolved.