Barcelona 1945: A city slowly heals from its war wounds and Daniel an antiquarian book dealer's son who mourns the loss of his mother finds solace in a mysterious book entitled The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax. But when he sets out to find the author's other works he makes a shocking discovery: someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book Carax has written. In fact Daniel may have the last of Carax's books in existence. Soon Daniel's seemingly innocent quest opens a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets--an epic story of murder madness and doomed love. --back cover