once again, carlos ruiz zafón takes us into a dark, gothic barcelona and creates a breathtaking tale of intrigue, romance, and tragedy. at the beginning of this powerful, labyrinthian thriller, david martin, a pulp fiction writer struggling to stay afloat, is holed up in an abandoned mansion in the heart of barcelona, furiously tapping out story after story, becoming increasingly desperate and frustrated. when a mysterious publisher offering a book deal that seems almost too good to be real, david, approaches him leaps at the chance. but as he begins the work, and after a visit to the cemetery of forgotten books, he realizes that there is a connection between his book and the shadows that surround his dilapidated home and that the publisher may be hiding a few troubling secrets of his own.