A novel based on a real case. Late autumn, 1998, Longyou County in western Zhejiang. Hu Xuemei, a dentist, dies under mysterious circumstances. Her husband, Li Bingyan, overcome with grief, claims she died suddenly of a heart attack. During emergency treatment, Shao Mingyi, a doctor at the county hospital, notices a strange needle mark on the deceased woman’s left arm, surrounded by dark-brown, necrotic skin. Years of professional instinct tell him this is no ordinary sudden death, and he insists on reporting it. Young police officer Lin Bin takes on the case, pressing ahead with his investigation despite criticism and pressure for “meddling in things that aren’t his business.” During the autopsy, forensic pathologist Li Zhen finds that the toxins in the woman’s body closely match the symptoms of snake venom poisoning. But since China has no snake venom testing technology, the case reaches an impasse. A struggle between crime and justice. Li Bingyan believes his “perfect murder” can exploit a gap in technology to escape punishment, but the law is inescapable. Every tiny flaw ultimately becomes ironclad evidence of his crime.
