“Long ago, in a former age and a bygone time, there was a king who wished to test the loyalty of his people. He issued a command that for one night no light must show in any part of the city.”
“The house by the river belonged to an old man whose relationship to George Meshaw was complicated but easily covered by 'cousin.' He had lived there alone, with a painting that was probably a Bonnard.”
“What follows is a story of contagion, and it begins, as all such stories must, with a message both obscure and appalling.”
