Many years after their brilliant and completely flawless escape the master illusionist Eisenheim played by Edward Norton and his true love Sophie played by Jessica Biel have successfully built a very quiet and peaceful hidden life for themselves far away from the oppressive reach of the rapidly crumbling Austrian Empire They thought they had finally left the dangerous world of stage magic and corrupt royal politics behind them forever enjoying the simple beauty of their quiet existence
However their hard won peace is violently shattered when a terrifying series of completely impossible and highly deadly crimes suddenly strikes the major political capitals of Europe What makes these horrific events so incredibly disturbing to the authorities is that each elaborate crime scene bears the unmistakable and highly complex signature of Eisenheims own famous grand illusions leaving no doubt in the public eye about who is responsible
Now completely framed for high treason and being relentlessly pursued across the continent by deadly new enemies the master illusionist is violently forced to step back out of the comforting shadows of his retirement In order to clear his ruined name and desperately protect the only woman he has ever truly loved Eisenheim realizes he cannot fight this massive unseen threat all alone He must swallow his pride and forge a highly unlikely and deeply uneasy alliance with his former pursuer and old intellectual rival Chief Inspector Uhl played brilliantly by Paul Giamatti
Working closely together the former enemies slowly begin to unravel a deeply sinister and massive political conspiracy led by a highly dangerous rival phantom illusionist This mysterious new enemy is completely intent on using dark deception and mass manipulation to plunge the entire European continent into a massive and bloody global war As the delicate lines between stage magic harsh reality and deadly deception begin to heavily blur Eisenheim must carefully orchestrate his absolute most dangerous and truly breathtaking performance yet Packed with incredibly mind bending twists exquisite historical mystery and high stakes sweeping romance this highly anticipated sequel proves once and for all that the absolute greatest and most difficult trick of all is simple human survival in a world built entirely on deadly lies