A man is shot dead as he runs to catch the bus in the piazza of a small
Sicilian town. Captain Bellodi, the detective on the case, is new to his
job and determined to prove himself. Bellodi suspects the Mafia, and his
suspicions grow when he finds himself up against an apparently
unbreachable wall of silence. A surprise turn puts him on the track of a
series of nasty crimes. But all the while Bellodi's investigation is
being carefully monitored by a host of observers, near and far. They
share a single concern: to keep the truth from coming out.
This short, beautifully paced novel is a mesmerizing description of the
Mafia at work.