When a universally disliked elderly woman is murdered, suspicion immediately falls on her Romanian housekeeper, who is killed attempting to avoid arrest. The Venetian police consider the case closed until a neighbor returns from an extended trip abroad and insists upon the housekeeper's innocence. Only Commissario Guido Brunetti believes the neighbor's tale and takes it upon himself to find the true murderer. This mystery is the 13th in a series featuring Brunetti.