Castelnero is an ancient village dominated by a castle of dark stone and built on a 300-metre-high pinnacle of rock in the Region of Umbria, Italy. Peter Wood, a tourist from New Zealand, visits the town and inadvertantly becomes involved in unusual happenings which place his life in jeopardy. His association with the ancient Pozzi family, the Carabinieri and various local characters leads him into a mystery which concerns the economic survival of the town. And then, there are the earthquakes. The author has applied recorded history to the imaginary town on top of the rocky crag. The formation of the the pinnacle, the settlement of the gorge in which it stands, the occupation by Umbri, Etruscans, Romans, Byzantines and other events in the novel have their roots in the history of Italy. Some events actually happened. Others didn't. The Umbrian setting is real except for the actual town of Castelnero and its environs.