The Stone of Sorrow begins some months after the end of The Secret of the Achemist in Provence. A new mix of strange characters and weird events brings Jake and Helen together again: this time they are further along the way to understanding the true power of The Philospher's Stone: life eternal. Yet others seek it too: the face-shifting Zoe and the counterfeit teacher, Macintosh Raeburn; the blood-chilling Doctor Negulescu, deceased but controlled by another through the art of metempsychosis; and the horrifying, centuries-old Draganu. From its beginning long ago in the Italian town of Ferrara to its startling climax in an ancient underground palace in Istanbul, this is an unforgettable, page-turner of a tale.