Brunetti is an expert in keeping wishes of Venice's grandees out of his work. The venerable Contessa Lando-Continui, however, cannot escape even the commissario. The 80-year-old asks him to clear up a family tragedy that took place a long time ago: She wants to know how her niece fell off a bridge, where the then 15-year-old almost drowned. Due to the irreversible brain damage, Manuela, now 30 years old, remains at the mental level of a 6-year-old (small) child - and that's how it will stay forever! At the same time, when the former lifesaver is murdered, the closed case takes on an unexpected topicality. Now the commissario wants to find out what the honourable family covered up and why Manuela's father had to start a new life in the Far East. After all these years of silence, the mighty Contessa has also summoned him - without, however, defoliating what it is all about. The commissario also comes across granite with the strict patriarch. Her close confidant Sandro Vittori-Ricciardi plays an opaque role, as does Stefano Dalla Lana, the murdered man's best friend. Brunetti puts his team on the two cases in which he suspects a direct connection. In a daring scenario he wants to unravel the truth from the felt of interests and intrigues.
