When Ludlow Fitch suffers an unspeakable betrayal he runs from the rotten stinking city .On the night he enters Pagus Parvus a second newcomer arrives at the remote village .Joe Zabbidou ,a mysterious pawnbroker who buys people's deepest,darkest secrets is searching for new customers and for an apprentice .Shadowy Ludlow seems perfect for the job. But as he begins his new life recording the villagers' fiendish confessions ,Ludlow's musky past threatens to come into the light....