Set in medieval Paris, Victor Hugo’s powerful historical romance The Hunchback of Notre-Dame tells the story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, condemned as a witch by the tormented archdeacon Claude Frollo, who lusts after her. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, having fallen in love with the kindhearted Esmeralda, tries to save her by hiding her in the cathedral’s tower. When a crowd of Parisian peasants, misunderstanding Quasimodo’s motives, attacks the church in an attempt to liberate her, the story ends in tragedy.
In this sequel to Moonheart, de Lint revisits Tamson House, the sprawling Ottawa edifice that is a reservoir of psychic power and a gateway to many spirit worlds, particularly those of Native American and Celtic mythology. The house is occupied by a shifting collection of artists and other social misfits seeking peace and protection from a society they find threatening. Emma Fenn, who can communicate with trees, is saved from a band of renegade faeries by Blue Farley, former biker and caretaker of Tamson, and by Esmeralda Foylan, a childhood friend and seeker of ancient truths.