In an Underwater Cavern Off the Coast West of Marseille Are the First Human Engravings Known to Man. Among Them is a Crude Drawing of a Three-Fingered Hand, Which Has Long Puzzled Archaeologists. is It a Hunting Signal? a Mystic Sign Invoking the Spirits? or is It, As Many Believe, Evidence of Ritual Mutilation in a Shamanistic World? "The Hunter" Evidently Believes the Latter. Driven by Inhuman Voices to Maim and Kill, He Severs the Body Parts of His Victims - and Signs His Savagery With a Print of a Three-Fingered Hand. Commandant Michel De Palma, of the Marseille Murder Squad, Heads to the University in Aix-En-Provence to Investigate Further, but the Clique of Pre-History Professors He Encounters Are As Hard to Unravel As the Meaning of the Cave-Drawing Itself. As He Gets Closer to the Truth, the Group of Academics Close Ranks. Slowly and Alone, De Palma Begins Pursuing a Mystery That Dates Back to the Ice Age. the First Fingerprint Introduces a Policeman As Polished As He is Brut