Of all the sins that live within the human heart, none is so deadly, so lasting as hate. Unchecked, it bears the bitter fruit of mental and spiritual annihilation. Its vibrations reach out of the grave like the tentacles of an octopus, in a last effort to win the final victory of a bitter revenge. Why did Francis X Blair hate his only son Paul, with a hatred as intense and boundless as the elements? The reason is as old as Eve - Francis X Blair, rich, handsome and a widower, and his son Paul were both in love with the same girl...