November 1891. The body of a young woman is discovered at a crossroads on Boulevard Montmartre. Barefoot and dressed in red, she has been strangled and her face disfigured.

That same day a single red shoe is delivered to Victor Legris's Parisian bookshop. Suspecting more than just coincidence, the bookseller sleuth and his assistant Jojo are soon engaged in seeking out the identity of both victim and murderer. In this third investigation set in belle-époque Paris, we are drawn with Victor and Jojo are soon drawn into the city's nightlife, and to the legendary Moulin Rouge...