Lev Baxter's life has been spent searching for the truth of the world's dark mysteries, and hiding from his own secrets. Burdened by love and lust for his married best friend, Shaw Montgomery, Lev escapes into the arms of countless, unnamed women in foreign lands, far from his true temptation. But Shaw seeks him out and Lev succumbs. The price he pays lies in a Romanian demon's curse, and his guilt drives him into hiding. When the curse comes to fruition and Lev has no choice but to carve it from his body, no amount of running or hiding can save him from the truths which find him at last. (M/M)