This glittering three-part fantasy begins in Ancient Rome and tells an evocative tale of reincarnation up to the present day. A. E. W. Mason brings to life the poignancies of the everyday through the characters of Attilus Scaurius, Anthony Scarr and Adrian Sharp. This unusual story is as much a reflection on the profound mysteries of life as it is a hypnotic and beguiling work of fiction.

Reincarnation is Mr. Mason’s theme, and it enables him to tell three cleverly contrasted stories and to show a nice sense of period. His gentlemen live in Roman, Elizabethan, and modern times.