Edimburgo esta a punto de convertirse, al cabo de casi tres siglos, en anfitriona del primer Parlamento escoces, un hito historico y politico que enciende pasiones. El inspector Rebus ha sido destinado al comite de enlace de seguridad del Parlamento, en Queensberry House, centro mismo del distrito de la comisaria de St. Leonard. De Queensberry House, futura sede del gobierno de la nueva Escocia, perdura la maldicion de una leyenda, una maldicion que segun algunos recaera sobre los nuevos inquilinos.Los problemas empiezan cuando, en la antigua chimenea donde de acuerdo con la leyenda murio asado un joven, aparece el cadaver de Roddy Grieve, candidato a un escano en el nuevo Parlamento. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION On the eve of the first Scottish parliament in three hundred years, Edinburgh is a city rife with political passions and expectations. Queensbury House, the home of Scotland's new rulers, falls in the middle Rebus' turf, keeping him busy with ceremonial tasks. That quickly changes, however, when a long-dead body is discovered in a Queensbury House fireplace, a homeless man throws himself off a bridge leaving behind a suitcase full of cash, and an up-and-coming politician is found murdered. The links between the three deaths lead Rebus to a confrontation with one of Edinburgh's most notorious criminals, a man he thought he'd put in jail for life. Someone's going to make a lot of money out of Scotland's independence as Rebus knows, where there's big money at stake, darkness gat