Publisher's Synopsis
Villainsac is a small market village situated in Southwest France which was constructed during the 13th century by Count Alphonse de Poitiers. The Count begets an illegitimate son called Charles who was tyrannical and mentally unstable. The Count therefore built a Chateau where he had Charles incarcerated until he died on 13th January 1289 or according to folk tale, suddenly disappeared.
The Chateau lay empty until it was occupied again in 1858 by John Henry Forbes, a wealthy London banker, and who on the night of 5th May 1868 also disappeared. In 2006 the Chateau was purchased by John Mortimer, also a wealthy banker.
However, after signing the first contract for the purchase of the Chateau, the Maire discovers a document which proves to be a Decree signed by Count Alphonse enforcing the owner of the Chateau to pay a pension to the local residents, free of tax. John Mortimer is a wealthy man but finding the money to fund the pensioners seems impossible.
John returns to London and late one afternoon in the City, John stumbles upon a pub which he had never noticed in the past called the "Alphonse."
On entering the pub John finds that he has gone back in time to 1868 and is addressed by the landlord as Mr. Forbes. He purchases a pint of beer, sits down at a table, and passes out. He is awoken back in his own time by a young man, whom in time; John will find familiar.
Realising that he has been taken for John Forbes, he contrives to make a Will with himself the main beneficiary. Strange events start to occur, and it is presumed that the spirit of a person who died by means other than of natural causes was imprisoned in the tunnel. Meanwhile, the ancient Decree becomes public knowledge, and a great deal of interest is shown by the village folk. Cleverly, this is quelled less the Tax Officials should find out about it.
However, there are three ladies in the village who have nothing much more to do than snoop on other people's business and are hell bent in finding the truth about the pension payments; as a result, all three meet their untimely deaths. They do in their plight managed to attract the attention of the Tax Office which generates the interest of Mme. Baldazzini (Tax Officer). In order to find the truth, she finally gate crashes a Hallowe'en Party given by John Mortimer at the Chateau thus manages to gain access to his study and filing cabinets. In doing so, she becomes possessed and disappears. This generates further interest by the police, the news media, and the Tax Office.
Further super natural disturbances occur at the Chateau which culminate in a surreal sexual experience being encountered between John and Mathieu Laffite (John's Valet). John makes a trip to the Cayman Islands where his funds are held. He meets Charles Snoopchut Sfenalono who has a seat next to him on the aircraft and is staying at the same hotel on the island; John soon realises that Charles has very strange powers. Mathieu is asked to travel to the island, when he arrives, Charles has mysteriously disappeared. John goes to the bank where the Manager tells him that a further letter of wishes by Mr Forbes had been found and written at the same time as the Will, this letter gives further instructions that the monies are to be transferred to a Mr Charles Snoopchut Sfenalono.....
