Ballerinas are a lot less fragile than they look. Behind the grace lies a combination of muscle and dexterity, built up through a lifetime of training and discipline. But their necks are no stronger than anyone else’s, as demonstrated by the strangled corpse that is captain Franck Guerin’s latest case.

Sophie Duval was supposed to dance the lead in a new ballet to be premiered on the stage of the Paris Opera in under a month’s time. The Opera Ballet will have to find a replacement, not to mention explain away the secrets revealed by Franck’s investigation of Sophie’s recent past. Something corrupt may lie at the heart of one of the world’s greatest ballet company. Either that, or the new ballet – a tale of savage instinct, forbidden knowledge, and violent death – bears some kind of a curse.

Franck has a few weeks to work it out. Not so easy when you understand nothing of the tight-knit world of classical ballet. Nor when you find yourself caught up in a deadly pas de deux with a killer who can dance rings around you.