The opening scene is an art gallery owned by Patrick Lambert in present day Dubai, but the novel quickly shifts back to the history behind the scene. Caroline Cooper and Patrick Lambert had been History of Art students together at Cambridge University. Under the direction of their supervisor, Alice Long, they worked on their dissertations on the Surrealists. Caroline’s focus was on Sphinxes in Surrealist art, and she later became an expert on the fictional artist Juliet Willoughby, thanks to Ms. Long. This fact becomes pivotal in the novel, as she is called on by Patrick in present day to authenticate a painting potentially worth millions of dollars, if genuine. The author, Ellery Lloyd, (actually a pseudonym for a husband & wife team) does an excellent job of tying everything together, with the story behind the painting key to the bigger picture. The surprise twist at the end is superb!