In the book-filled, artfully messy Paris apartment of the famous French intellectuals Celestine and Aristide Arosteguy, an astonishing discovery is made - the grisly, butchered remains of Celestine, partially eaten. Her husband, sought by police for questioning, is nowhere to be found. Naomi Seberg, a young journalist, embarks upon a quest to uncover the truth of Celestine's death and Aristide's role in it. Meanwhile, her boyfriend contracts an STD and travels to Toronto to track down the disease's discoverer.