Every year in Tarascon, as they have done for centuries, the Knights of the Tarasque worship the effigy of a mythical beast. But the boundaries between myth and reality are blurred when a mutilated body is found at the foot of the effigy, apparently torn apart by gigantic teeth and claws. And at the same time an eerie voice is heard echoing across the nature reserve for migrating birds, singing in what sounds like the ancient Provencal language. Michel de Palma, from the Marseille murder squad - known as the Baron - is given the case. The mystery he unravels stretches back to the time of the German occupation and beyond. But one dark secret eludes him. Can the legends really be true? Can it really be that a terrifying monster stalks the bleak marshes of the Camargue?