A roguish art-world adventure where beauty, criminal ingenuity and reinvention travel together.
Set across Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Sicily.
Berend has the eye of an artist and the instincts of a born survivor. When two panels stolen from the Ghent Altarpiece pass through his hands, their beauty opens the door to wealth, danger and an increasingly elaborate escape across borders. Aurora, a secretive baron and determined pursuers ensure that possession is never the same as safety.
Berend's gift is not only artistic. He understands surfaces, stories and the small physical details that persuade people to believe an object has lived a different life. Those talents carry him from modest beginnings into increasingly rarefied—and dangerous—company.
Inside the story
At the heart of the novel are two panels connected to the Ghent Altarpiece. Their passage through private rooms, secret cellars and guarded borders draws collectors, criminals and authorities into the same pursuit.
The result is both an art mystery and a character-driven escape story, propelled by Berend's nerve and by Aurora, whose loyalties and resourcefulness continually alter the balance.
Watch a scene
The theft at Saint Bavo Cathedral
A 30-second cinematic interpretation of the midnight robbery that sets the mystery of the Ghent Altarpiece in motion.
“Berend did not want other hands on the treasure.”
From The Antiquarian
The world of the book
Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Sicily
What draws you in
↗ A charismatic artist-thief
↗ The mystery of the Ghent Altarpiece
↗ A chase across postwar Europe
At its heart
◆ Stolen masterpieces
◆ Reinvention
◆ Pursuit
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