Vienna 1770: Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen unveils an amazing invention, The Mechanical Turk, an unbeatable chess playing automaton.
Hailed as the greatest innovation of the century, the chess machine is really a brilliant illusion, secretly operated from inside by the Italian dwarf Tibor. But when a beautiful and seductive countess dies mysteriously in the presence of the automaton, the machine and its inventor become the target of espionage, persecution, and intrigue.
What is the dark secret behind this automaton and what strange powers does it hold?