Commissario Guido Brunetti is approached for a favor by Elisabetta Foscarini. Her mother was good to Brunetti's mother, so he feels obliged to look into the matter privately, and not as official police business. Foscarini's son-in-law, Enrico Fenzo, has alarmed his wife (her daughter) by confessing their family might be in danger. When his friend's daughter's place of work is vandalized, Brunetti asks his own favors - that his colleagues Claudia Griffoni, Lorenzo Vianello, and Signorina Elettra Zorzi assist his private investigation, which soon turns official as they uncover the dark nature of a venerable Italian institution.

adult

Donna Leon.