Two thugs enter the rich Venetian apartment of Brett Lynch, an American expert on Chinese antiquities, and brutally beat the owner. If not for the accidental intervention of a friend, Brett would hardly have remained alive. Commissioner Brunetti's superiors are inclined to accept the version of a failed robbery, but the detective rejects it: he draws attention to the fact that the attackers for some reason demanded that their victim cancel a meeting scheduled for the coming days with the director of the Doge's Palace Museum, Dottore Semenzato. Brunetti soon becomes convinced that he is indeed dealing with a serious crime: a murder is taking place nearby...