The daughter of a famous banker disappears in Edinburgh—the student Philippa Balfour. The investigation is assigned to John Rebus’s team. The police have two leads. First: a small wooden doll was found in the woods near the Balfours’ house, inside a coffin. Second: lately Philippa hasn’t been able to get away from the internet—she got pulled into a role-playing game run by some Sphinx. John Rebus, an old-school detective, is ready for any difficulties—just not for wandering through the hidden corners of the Internet. Luckily, he gets a capable assistant: detective inspector Siobhan Clarke.