In a world where freedom is not an option, No. 3-5-2-2 knows how dangerous it is to be an Esclavo, a slave for the Conquistadors. One defiant glance can cost you your tongue and, perhaps, more--a lesson No. 3-5-2-2 won't ever forget. When the handsome Dr. Luciano finds No. 3-5-2-2, it's more than just a mutilated tongue he discovers, but layers upon layers of troubles with the law and authorities. And when he tries to help the young Esclavo escape her tormentor, a spurned lover comes his way, adamant to make the doctor hers. The world isn't beautiful, and both No. 3-5-2-2 and Dr. Luciano know that well.

He was a stranger, who came into their lives unannounced. He was charming yet mysterious, but he never left a question unanswered. Once they have been enchanted and trapped by his stories of princes wearing turbans, of men walking on hot coals, and his love making, he would disappear like a fog--never to reappear unless he wished it. His victims were numerous: an English Baron who wanted to keep him, a hunter who tracked him from Kazan, a gentle lady who knew him before his adventures, an orphan who devoted her whole life to him, a Bishop who abandoned his son, a clandestine society of individuals who wasted their lives in opium, and a tragic woman who gave him his life.