What is to become of a magician's assistant without her magician? This is the question Sabine asks herself after the death of Parsival, the magician she worked with for more than twenty years and her husband for only a few months. Parsival loved men, especially Phan, and though Sabine loved Parsival, she contented herself with his friendship. Now Parsival and Phan are both gone, and Sabine is left with full responsibility for their possessions and their histories. Always the assistent, her life is still defined by service to Parsival.
But in the world of illusions Sabine has occupied for her entire life, things are rarely what they seem. With Parsivals death comes some astonishing news that has a huge impact on Sabine's life.