Early one morning Brunetti is confronted with the body of a young American serviceman fished out of a fetid Venetian canal.

Then something incriminating is found in the dead man's flat, and Brunetti becomes convinced that somebody is taking great pains to provide an easy solution to the crime.

When he uncovers collusion between U.S. bases abroad and international business interests involved in toxic waste disposal, he exposes the sinister face of the military-industrial complex.

Add to this the corruption of Italian politics, and the reader sees Brunetti rendered helpless in the face of evil.

Only a vengeful Sicilian mother can bring a bit of justice to the world Leon has created.