When a body is discovered at a stadium used by a college athletics squad, Darac cedes leadership of an ongoing case to investigate. Who is the victim? Why were they killed? Who could have performed such a brutal act? As the list of suspects grows and the earlier case continues to frustrate Darac's second-in-command, Roland Granot, a mysterious sighting sets in train a series of events which threatens to strike at the very heart of Darac's world.

The setting with its vibrant light, and the spectacular Alpes Maritime mountain range at its back, is Nice. And with that celebrated azure coastline at its feet, Nice is as beautiful as any Mediterranean resort. But it's also a multi-ethnic city of almost half a million souls. And are there serpents in this particular paradise? Ask Darac, Commissaire Agnes Dantier and the other officers of Nice's Brigade Criminelle.