A story inspired by the discovery of the wreck of a ship dating back to the fourteenth century at San Marco in Boccalama, a mostly submerged island in the Venetian Lagoon, used as a burial place (or perhaps a simple dumping ground) for the dead of the 1348 plague. Among the thousands of skeletons consumed by time, one hides a puzzle of extraordinary significance.
With his usual gift for storytelling and extensive knowledge of the past, Valerio Massimo Manfredi uses archaeological data to create a story of intrigue and mystery involving the hunt for a fabulous disappeared treasure; a precious treasure and a legacy bequeathed to humanity by a superior mind. And so the alleys of Venice and the muddy waters of the lagoon become the theatre in which scholars used to investigating the secrets of the distant past through archaeological excavations are transformed into determined detectives obliged to face dangerous, powerful and tremendously contemporary enemies.