Brunetti's father-in-law, the Count Falier, urges Brunetti to investigate and intervene in the seemingly innocent plan of the Count's best friend, Gonzalo Rodriguez de Tejeda, to adopt a much younger man as his son. Not long after Gonzalo unexpectedly passes away, one of Gonzalo's oldest friends, just arrived in Venice for the memorial service, is strangled in her hotel room ... The 28th novel in Donna Leon's bestselling Commissario Brunetti series.