Maria Ducceschi

An all-expenses-paid international search for a rare copy of the book 'The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows' brings an unscrupulous book dealer deep into a world of murder, double-dealing and Satanic worship.

Lucien is a dwarf, who works hard in a large legal office. His only friend is trapeze circus artist Isis. One day he gets the attention of singer Paola Bendoni and falls in love with her.

Magali plays in a brass band. Guillaume drives a small tourist train. Both spin a perfect love, they share modest dreams and their baby is about to come. But an unexpected news upsets their routine: a man appears and announces that he is Guillaume's estranged father and also reveals that Guillaume is his legitimate heir of a kingdom offshore of France and England. Guillaume and Magali start to dream of a life as monarchs, surrounded by faithful subjects in their castle, enjoying their wealth. But reality is often different to what you can imagine.

An antiques dealer hatches a devilish plan to get rid of his wife, setting off a deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

The plot is about a trial against three men who tried to earn loads of money by illegal methods to get to Canada and about the lawyers and the judge who get on with the trial and who are being unfaithful to their couples.

Loudun, October 1947. Leon Besnard and Marie celebrate their eighteenth wedding anniversary with friends and Ady, a former German prisoner they have "adopted". A few days later, Leon dies. Louise, a friend of the couple's and probably Leon's mistress claims that, on his deathbed, the deceased told her that Marie was poisoning him. The whole town soon condemns Marie and she is arrested and sent to jail. Did she really kill Léon as well as twelve other members of her family as she finds herself charged with?