his own hidden truths. The opening of the novel sets a fantastical scene within a dark and tumultuous court, where the masked royalty and their courtiers engage in a surreal interplay of laughter and sorrow. As the king demands to know the cause of a disturbance, a blind beggar enters and unnervingly suggests that the king and his court are not what they seem. The beggar's insight catalyzes an unsettling journey for the king, who becomes obsessed with uncovering his own identity and the faces of those around him. This leads to an anxiety-filled quest to confront hidden truths, culminating in a devastating revelation about his true self that compels him to act out in desperation. (This is an automatically generated summary.)