Paris, around 1680. A mysterious series of murders shakes the capital. Young noblemen, on their way to meet their lovers, are stabbed by an unknown assailant, and their valuable jewelry gifts are stolen. The king asks his court poetess, the 73-year-old Madeleine de Scudéri, for help in the manhunt. She quickly discovers that all the stolen pieces of jewelry come from the workshop of the famous goldsmith Cardillac. Is he not only the creator of these artworks but also a murderer and thief? The award-winning artist Lisbeth Zwerger has illustrated E. T. A. Hoffmann's classic crime novella for the Insel-Bücherei. "She is a sorceress who enchants us with her images." (Andreas Platthaus, FAZ).