The Celluloid Alibi - Sahara Voss

You control the negative... you control reality."

On Soundstage 5 of Rome’s historic Cinecittà Studios, legendary director Giancarlo Rossi turns a prop revolver on himself for the final take of his masterpiece, The Velvet Guillotine. The shot is real. The director falls dead instantly.

Two hundred witnesses stood on the soundstage. Three cameras captured every millisecond. The soundstage was locked down within seconds with zero escape routes and zero firearms found. Yet when forensic script doctor Rory Callahan analyzes the raw 35mm negative, she discovers an impossible optical ghost in Frame 1,482: a shadow standing behind the director that no human eye in the room ever saw.

Teaming up with Interpol investigator Nathan Cross and Rome Chief Inspector Isabella Conti, Rory tracks the conspiracy from the ancient catacombs of the Appian Way to a secluded fortress on Lake Como and the subterranean vaults beneath the Milan Stock Exchange. There, she uncovers The Chronos Splicer-a monstrous, top-secret optical machine used by a $10 billion media syndicate to manufacture flawless, physical 35mm film alibis for Europe’s most corrupt politicians and corporate titans.

When the syndicate frames Rory and Nathan for the assassination and schedules their fabricated confessions to air live to eighty-five million viewers during the Venice International Film Festival, Rory must pull off the most daring optical counter-splice in history-live from the projection booth on the Lido.