He is one of the most haunting characters in all of literature. At last, the evolution of his evil is revealed. Hannibal Lecter emerges from the nightmare of the Eastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute, with a chain around his neck. He seems utterly alone, but he has brought his demons with him. Hannibal`s uncle, a noted painter, finds him in a Soviet orphanage and brings him to France, where Hannibal will live with his uncle and his uncle`s beautiful and exotic wife, Lady Murasaki. Lady Murasaki helps Hannibal to her help he flourishes, becoming the youngest person ever admitted to medical school in France. But Hannibal`s demons visit him and torment he is old enough, he visits them in turn. He discovers he has gifts beyond the academic, and in that epiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomes death`s prodigy.