When Captain Barney’s Circus closes, Firefly and Tiny Tim travel to Pine Mountain, Kentucky to visit their old friend Swami, a snake charmer, who has discovered “you can’t go home again.” In an attempt to teach the latest in 1890’s science, Swami has managed to offend Preacher “God Almighty” Brown and the Holiness Pentecostals—a group that seeks God by speaking in tongues, drinking strychnine, and handling serpents. Swami, in fear for his life, asks Firefly, “the tiny detective,” and her young husband, Tim, for help.
At the Holiness services, when Swami is offered a writhing serpent, one of “God Almighty’s” young acolytes, Weedon Coleman, exultantly snatches up the snake instead. Within minutes, Weedie is snake-bit. Within hours, he is suffering agonizing pain. Within days he is dead. Was it murder? Was someone trying to kill Swami or was it just an accident? As our trusty detectives set out to find out, they uncover long buried tales of love, murder, and treachery.
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