In 1930's Key West, Florida, a German immigrant, who insisted his name was Count Carl von Cosel, fell madly in love with a beautiful young tuberculosis patient at Key West Marine Hospital, where he worked. Von Cosel claimed to have seen visions of Elena, his soul mate, long before he had ever met her. He tried to save her to no avail. Beyond grief, he refused to accept her death, vowing she would become his after-life bride. Half a century later, the story caught the imagination of Key West singer/songwriter Ben Harrison. What strange twist of reasoning or fate had driven von Cosel to his desperate acts? Was he really mad, or had he found his soul mate as he swore? Expertly piecing together von Cosel's bizarre life, Harrison separates fact from myth, and untangles the thread of intrigue woven through a fascinating, gothic tale of obsessive love and melancholic madness.--From publisher description.