18th Century Europe: Superstition is giving way to the force of reason, and no man so fully embodies the spirit of the times as Dr Erasmus Darwin. Thinker, healer, and explorer of he seemingly supernatural, no mystery can stand for long against Darwin's enlightened analysis. And there are more mysteries than history records...For Erasmus Darwin's world is filled with oddities that most cannot believe: from unknown beings lurking just outside the boundaries of civilization, to mysterious deaths that give rise to fears of malevolent sorcery. And when the renowned Dr Darwin is called upon to heal a man dying of an ailment that seems impossible, he has no idea that it is the beginning of a quest that will lead him to the darkest corners of Europe, and an encounter with the most famous inhabitant of a certain Scottish loch...