What can a precious pre-Renais-  sance manuscript, a 600-year-old treatise  on witchcraft and black magic,  have to do with the violent death of  a quiet, friendly young teacher of history at the University of California?  This is the question that Robert Kintyre asks himself when his friend,  Bruce Lombardi, a colleague on the  Berkeley campus and aman seemingly  without enemies, is found murdered,  bearing the marks of horrible tortures.  Kintyre is a Renaissance scholar, a  specialist on Machiavelli and an expert  at judo—and murder is more than a  little out of his line. But he is convinced  that the medieval Book of  Witches is somehow connected with  the crime. When the girl he loves is  in danger of becoming the murderer's  next victim, Kintyre knows he has to  act fast to track down a ruthless killer.And when a lone man goes down to  a beach in the fog to fight three armed  men—the result is a terrifying blend  of suspense and mystery.