A small Italian town. Two dead teenagers. And a fatal secret. In Mancanzano, buried deep in the Italian south, two naked teenagers are found dead. Hidden away in one of the labyrinthine caves that surround the town, their lithe young bodies are perfect except for the mysterious lacerations which ravage their faces. As police puzzle over the deaths, four experts arrive to investigate the breathtaking frescoes discovered with the corpses. But when another adolescent couple is found, and then another, the team soon find they are forbidden to leave. Weeks, then months pass, and as the intense heat of the Italian summer descends, it seems the irresistible atmosphere of the deadly town has them all in its thrall ...