The book is presented as a translation of an ancient Greek novel published in Athens just after the Peloponnesian War, complete with the extensive footnotes from the scholar performing the translation. In the ancient novel (which is itself called "The Athenian Murders"), a young ephebe named Tramachus is discovered on the slopes of Mount Lycabettus, apparently attacked by wolves. Diagoras, the boy's erastes and tutor at the Academy, enlists the help of a "Decipherer of Enigmas" (a detective named Heracles Pontor) to learn more about Tramachus's death. As Diagoras and Heracles investigate, more youths from the Academy are discovered brutally murdered. Their investigation takes them all over Athens, from mystery cult worship services to a symposium hosted by Plato.