A pair of intertwined metafictional literary mystery novellas published in a single tête-bêche (i.e., reversible) volume.

LATIN OMNIVORE

The professor has always preferred to let things play out rather than get involved, be it her failing marriage, her troubled adult children, or college departmental politics. This changes when she's approached by Mitra Leninov, a transfer student from Iran. Leninov presents a strange Latin manuscript, Pluvia, Ostium, Laboribus (Rain, Venom, Toil), that must be translated by none other than the professor herself. But as the professor begins translating the story, chapter by chapter, Leninov vanishes in a swirl of rumor and accusation about who she really is. The professor must decide whether she believes the evidence around her as to the fraudulence of Leninov, or whether to trust the student and learn what deeper truths lurk beneath the surface.

RAIN, VENOM, TOIL

The nephew-brash, unapologetic, and lecherous-is in danger of being cut out of his dying uncle's inheritance. To restore his prospects, the nephew travels to Valencia for one night to retrieve a mysterious novella, Latin Omnivore. But the nephew isn't the only one tracking down this book: agents of a censorious sect seek to destroy all copies, fearing it may poison the mind of its readers. The nephew tumbles into a conflict between shadowy organizations, a battle waged in bookstores and at card tables. The nephew must outwit his rivals and prove himself worthy before dawn, or else the book will vanish forever and his fortunes will be doomed.