Caterina Pellegrini, a native Venetian with a doctorate in baroque opera, must determine the rightful ownership of two locked trunks belonging to a famous composer who has been dead for centuries.

Assigned to investigate the murder of an undocumented Sri Lankan immigrant, Commissario Guido Brunetti must rely on gossip and the memories of people who knew the victim, and as parts of the puzzle come together, a connection to his own youthful past turns out to be the final piece.