It inspires terror in all who look on it. . . Eminent politician Paul Lessingham is the toast of Westminster, but when 'The Beetle' arrives from Egypt to hunt him down, the dark and gruesome secret that haunts him is dragged into the light. Bent on revenge for a crime committed against the disciples of Isis, the Beetle terrorizes its victims and will stop at nothing until it has satisfaction. Six people's worlds are turned upside down by murder, mesmerism and human sacrifice as they struggle to save their sanity and, above all, their lives.