Carlo Trevisan, counselor to influential industrialists and bankers, an expert on international law, is found shot to death on the train from Torino.

Commissionario Guido Brunetti is assigned the Trevisan case with the admonition to handle it discreetly and speedily. Two days later an accountant for politically active manufacturers is found murdered in his car. Brunetti finds that both men had been placing calls to Eastern Europe, Ecuador and Thailand from a pay phone in a disreputable bar in Padua. Shortly thereafter Trevisan's brother-in-law is also murdered. Brunetti must find a connection between all these events.

Brunetti, relying on various sources (his boss' secretary, a judge who owes him a favor, his sergeant's wife who is a gossip, his own daughter), finds a corruption network among the privileged and powerful. Brunetti uncoverss an international drug and prostitution ring and also the production of "snuff" videos, run by some of Venice's most influential citizens.

This is a book filled with intrigue, political corruption and horrifying details of man’s treatment of women. The story is complex with a sharp-witted Commissario, who has a gentle heart and love for his family, but also a keen sense of justice. The relationships between Brunetti and his many sources of information are both humorous and intelligent. His love for his daughter and wife unfolds with feeling and understanding.

We hope to follow the career of Brunetti in the future. He is an illustrious addition to the genre.