Vienna, 1904. The body of a manstill sitting in a chairis discovered in an abandoned piano factory on the outskirts of the city. He has been shot dead but his face has been horribly disfigured with acid, making identification impossible. In front of the body are three chairs positioned conspicuously in a straight line. Who were the former occupants? Had they sat in judgement and pronounced a sentence of death? Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt calls on his good friend, Doctor Max Liebermannpsychiatrist and disciple of Sigmund Freudto assist in an investigation that draws them both into the shadowy and sexually unconventional world of fringe political activism.
