What role should loyalty play in the life of a police inspector? It's a question Commissario Guido Brunetti must face and answer in Donna Leon's splendid 31st installment of her series, following Transient Desires. Approached by a family friend to investigate her son-in-law, Brunetti feels obliged to look into the matter privately. As he uncovers the dark nature of a venerable Italian institution, however, Brunetti is forced to question his own integrity.

"Unarguably one of the most humane—and absorbing—of the series…. The dilemmas demand the best of Brunetti, which is what he delivers."—Toronto Star