In the latest Commissario Alec Blume novel, our hero is called in by old friend magistrate Principe to "shadow" an investigation into the attempted murder of a former fascist terrorist responsible for a public bombing thirty years earlier. This investigation is adjacent to another: the murder of a young woman on the university campus of Rome. The apparent link between these two crimes is an articulate, learned, and thoroughly crazy professor called Pitagora, who teaches both literature and a system enigmatic memory techniques. Professor Pitagora is up-front about his political beliefs, but could his strange psychological program be masking something important?
All the investigators know the two crimes form part of the same nexus, but Blume believes he can find clues through the Professor. If only he were actually assigned to this case...
Meanwhile, Blume has been living with Caterina and not finding it easy - or rather, poor old Caterina is not finding it easy living with him. Will the strains in their relationship lead Blume astray? And can he successfully navigate the ranks of his distrustful colleagues, a rocky relationship, and a high-profile investigation—all without crossing the line?