Sitting on the bow of a boat in the rippling waves of Lake Orta, Commissioner Zottìa sails to the island of San Giulio. It is not a boat trip, but the beginning of a new investigation. Nearly a year has passed since the last one, and something has returned to shatter the island's quiet: strange thefts in local villas and a painting that disappears and mysteriously reappears. Then when two men are murdered and a charming woman desperately needs his help, the commissioner realizes he can't escape any longer.