An act of vandalism is being committed in Venice, and the culprit, who did not think of escaping from the scene of the crime, turns out to be none other than the wife of Commissioner Brunetti. Paola's inexplicable act causes discord in the commissioner's family, while at work his boss pesters him, demanding the immediate disclosure of the daring robbery and the suspicious death associated with it. This collision of professional and personal life threatens Brunetti's career, and Paola's secrets, which she, risking everything, does not want to reveal, bring him to the brink of the abyss...